APC reverses Plateau Reps primary, declares Gagdi winner

The All Progressives Congress has reversed the outcome of its Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam House of Representatives primary election in Plateau State, declaring incumbent lawmaker Yusuf Gagdi as the authentic winner while disowning an earlier result that named John Tongshinen victorious.

The reversal was announced on Monday at the APC State Secretariat in Jos by the Chairman of the Plateau State Primaries Electoral Committee, Stella Okotete, who described the initial declaration as unauthorised and invalid.

Okotete stated that only the officially appointed returning officer, Nandom Kura, had the constitutional authority to announce the result of the primary election.

She stressed that any announcement made outside that mandate should be disregarded.

Following the clarification, Kura officially declared Gagdi winner of the APC primary election for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency held on Saturday.

The development came barely 24 hours after an earlier result announced in Pankshin by one Monday Daspan declared Tongshinen winner with 29,968 votes against Gagdi’s 5,849 votes.

Daspan had claimed he was acting as chairman of the electoral committee and insisted the exercise was monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and security personnel.

Reacting to the earlier declaration, Gagdi rejected the outcome, insisting the primary election was properly conducted across all 36 wards in the constituency.

Addressing journalists in Jos on Monday after being declared winner, the lawmaker said he had evidence including accreditation records, videos and photographs to prove the credibility of the exercise.

He also dismissed claims of multiple valid results, maintaining that only two announcements were made, one of which had now been confirmed as illegitimate.

Gagdi further alleged that Daspan was never appointed by the electoral committee and therefore lacked the authority to announce the election result.

According to him, the APC constitution and guidelines clearly empower only the electoral committee to appoint officials responsible for conducting and declaring results.

The fresh declaration sparked celebrations in parts of Kanam and Pankshin, with supporters of the lawmaker jubilating over the development.

The Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam federal constituency seat remains one of the closely watched political contests in Plateau State ahead of the 2027 general elections.