The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reversed the outcome of its Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam House of Representatives primary election in Plateau State, declaring the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi, as the winner.
The party also disowned an earlier result which had declared John Tongshinen as the winner of the contest.
The reversal was announced on Monday at the APC State Secretariat in Jos by the Chairman of the APC Plateau State Primaries Electoral Committee, Stella Okotete, who said the earlier declaration was unauthorised.
The party said only the duly appointed returning officer had the authority to announce the result of the primary.
Okotete dismissed the earlier result announced in the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam federal constituency primary, describing it as invalid.
She explained that the only person empowered to declare the result of the primary was the officially appointed returning officer, Nandom Kura.
Okotete stated, “Only the officially appointed returning officer, Nandom Kura, has the constitutional authority to declare the results of the primary election.”
She added, “That any prior announcements made outside this mandate were invalid and should be disregarded.”
Following the clarification, Kura officially declared Gagdi as the winner of the APC primary election for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency, which was held on Saturday.
Tongshinen Earlier Announced Winner
The reversal came after an earlier result announced on Sunday at the constituency headquarters in Pankshin had named Tongshinen as the winner.
The result, announced by one Monday Daspan, said Tongshinen polled 29,968 votes, while Gagdi scored 5,849 votes.
Daspan had said, “By the powers conferred on me as the chairman of this committee, I hereby declare Dr John Tongshinen as the winner of the primaries for Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency based on the records available to me.”
He also claimed that the primary was observed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security personnel.
Gagdi, who is the Chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Navy, had rejected the first declaration.
Speaking with journalists at his residence in Jos on Monday after he was declared the authentic winner, the lawmaker insisted that the primary was conducted across all 36 electoral wards in the federal constituency.
He said there was evidence to support the process, including accreditation records, videos and photographs.
Gagdi dismissed the claim of multiple valid results, saying he was only aware of two announcements, one of which had now been confirmed as illegitimate.
He alleged that the earlier declaration attributed to Daspan was fraudulent, insisting that the person who made it was not appointed by the electoral committee and had no authority to announce the result.
Gagdi said, “The constitution and guidelines of the party clearly vest the power to appoint election officials in the electoral committee.
“Any declaration outside that authority is null and void.”
The new declaration sparked jubilation in parts of the constituency, especially in Kanam and Pankshin, shortly after the result was announced.
The Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam seat remains one of the closely watched contests in Plateau State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Gagdi currently represents the constituency in the House of Representatives and is seeking to return to the Green Chamber on the platform of the APC.