By Our Correspondent
Fresh crisis has engulfed the Plateau State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after no fewer than 17 aspirants for the Senate and House of Representatives rejected the outcome of the party’s National Assembly primaries, describing the exercise as fraudulent and demanding its cancellation.
The aggrieved aspirants, led by serving Senator Diket Plang, on Thursday stormed the APC Secretariat in Jos to submit petitions to the party’s National Assembly Primaries Appeal Committee, insisting that no valid election took place across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The petitions were received by the committee secretary, Hon. Muhammad Lawal Zubairu, amid mounting tension over the conduct of the primaries.
Among the petitioners were Mrs. Beatrice Dakas, AVM Napoleon Bali (Rtd), Senator Victor Lar, Senator ID Gyang, Hon. Alphonsus Komsol Logap, Ambassador Chris Giwa, Chief Ephraim Usman, Gyang Zi SAN and Dr. John Tongshinen.
Speaking with journalists after submitting the petitions, Senator Plang alleged that the primaries violated both the Electoral Act and APC guidelines, claiming that no transparent voting process was conducted in most areas.
According to him, party members waited for hours at designated centres expecting to vote, only for results to emerge later under questionable circumstances.
“There was no election in most places. While announcements were still being made that elections would continue, results had already been declared elsewhere,” Plang said.
He accused some unnamed party officials of allegedly allocating votes to aspirants without accreditation, voting or proper collation, describing the exercise as “the worst primary election ever witnessed on the Plateau.”
The senator further claimed that many aspirants only became aware of the results through social media, alleging that agents were denied access to accreditation and documentation processes.
“In my own federal ward alone, we have over 2,000 registered APC members, yet somebody sat down and allocated 1,423 votes to me as a sitting senator. That is offensive, unacceptable and pure blackmail,” he stated.
Plang said the direct primary system adopted by the APC was intended to allow registered party members freely choose candidates, but lamented that the process was allegedly hijacked.
“People stayed from morning till night because they believed they would vote. But suddenly, figures were manufactured in hotels and announced within minutes. That is not democracy,” he added.
The aggrieved aspirants also questioned the credibility of the House of Representatives primaries, alleging that conflicting results were announced in some constituencies.
Particular attention was drawn to the case involving Dr. John Tongshinen, whom the aspirants claimed was initially declared winner by electoral officials before another result later surfaced under controversial circumstances.
Despite their grievances, Plang insisted that the group remained loyal to the APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stressing that their protest was aimed at protecting the integrity of the party.
“We are not fighting the party. We are loyal APC members and committed supporters of President Tinubu. But we cannot keep quiet when democratic processes are abused,” he said.
He also warned against attempts by individuals to allegedly impose candidates using the President’s name, saying such actions could destabilise the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“If the President truly has preferred candidates, let it be communicated officially. Nobody should use the President’s name to blackmail others,” Plang warned.
The aspirants called on the APC national leadership and the appeal committee to nullify the disputed primaries and conduct fresh elections in line with the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines.
They further cautioned that failure to address their complaints could worsen divisions within the APC in Plateau State ahead of the 2027 polls.
“We want APC to move forward on the Plateau, but justice must prevail.
If the party desires victory in 2027, then these complaints must not be ignored,” Plang declared.
