APC Members Protest Alleged Imposition Of Plateau Reps Candidate

Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State have staged a peaceful protest at the party’s state secretariat in Jos over the alleged imposition of a candidate in the House of Representatives primary election for the Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam Federal Constituency.

Naija News reports that the protesters, mainly youths from the constituency, marched to the secretariat carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Protect Internal Democracy,” “Our Votes Must Count,” “Respect Party Structures,” “Justice for PKK Constituency,” and “APC Must Uphold Fairness.”

They also submitted a petition challenging the outcome of the primary election that produced the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, as the party’s candidate for the 2027 House of Representatives election.

The petition was signed by one of the aspirants, Hon. John Tongshinen Gozhak, on behalf of concerned party members and stakeholders.

According to Channels Television, addressing party officials during the protest, the demonstrators said they were demanding justice, fairness and transparency in the party’s internal democratic process.

They insisted that the integrity of the APC must be protected ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to the petition, the Plateau APC leadership had officially communicated the names of designated collation officers to all aspirants before the primary election.

The petition said the officers carried out the collation of results from the various voting centres.

However, the aggrieved members alleged that officials from the party’s national secretariat later disregarded the authority of the designated officers and introduced other individuals into the collation process.

“It came as a profound surprise to party members and stakeholders when reports emerged that certain officials or agents deployed from the National Secretariat rejected, displaced or otherwise disregarded the authority of the very officers whose names had earlier been officially communicated by the Plateau State Secretariat,” the petition read.

‘Confidence In APC Process Undermined’

The protesters said the alleged development had raised questions about the credibility of the primary election and the authenticity of the results that produced Gagdi as the APC candidate.

“If officers duly appointed and communicated by the Plateau State Secretariat can successfully conduct their assignment, collate results and submit same, only for their work to be subsequently disregarded or displaced, then the confidence of party members in the integrity of our internal democratic processes is inevitably undermined,” the petition added.

They called for an immediate review of the primary election and a thorough investigation into the alleged replacement of collation officers.

The protesters also demanded steps to ensure that the genuine votes cast by party members were protected and accurately reflected in the final results.

Gozhak said the aggrieved members chose peaceful engagement because they remained committed to the party.

“We have therefore chosen the path of peace, dialogue, and lawful engagement. Our peaceful protest and presentation of this petition should be understood as an appeal for justice within the party and not as an act of hostility against the APC,” he said.

The petitioners urged the Plateau APC leadership to uphold the authority of established party structures and restore members’ confidence in the party’s internal democratic process.

As of the time of filing this report, neither Gagdi nor the Plateau State chapter of the APC had officially responded to the allegations contained in the petition, Naija News understands.