The All Progressives Congress (APC) has completely overturned the outcome of its Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam House of Representatives primary election in Plateau State, officially declaring the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi, as the winner while disowning an earlier result that had named John Tongshinen the victor.
The dramatic 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 dismissed the first declaration as unauthorized.
Okotete discarded the previous results, clarifying that only the officially appointed returning officer has the mandate to announce the election outcome.
“Only the officially appointed returning officer, Nandom Kura, has the constitutional authority to declare the results of the primary election,” Okotete stated.
She stressed, “That any prior announcements made outside this mandate were invalid and should be disregarded.”
Following that clarification, Kura officially declared Yusuf Gagdi as the winner of the APC primary election for the PKK federal constituency, held on Saturday.
This new development directly nullifies the previous results announced on Sunday at the constituency headquarters in Pankshin by an individual named Monday Daspan, who had declared Tongshinen the winner.
“Declaring the result at the constituency headquarters in Pankshin on Sunday, the party returning officer, Monday Daspan, said Dr John Tongshinen scored 29,968 votes, while polled 5,849 votes,” the initial announcement stated.
“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,” Daspan said.
He added that “the primaries were observed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alongside security personnel.”
Gagdi, who currently serves as the Chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Navy, had fiercely rejected Sunday’s announcement from the onset.
Addressing journalists at his residence in Jos on Monday after being certified as the authentic winner, Gagdi maintained that the process was properly conducted across all 36 electoral wards, pointing to available evidence—including accreditation records, videos, and photographs—to support its credibility.
The lawmaker pushed back against claims of multiple results, stating he was “only aware of two announcements, one of which has now been confirmed as illegitimate.”
Gagdi also alleged that the earlier declaration attributed to “Daspan Ishaya was fraudulent, noting that the individual was not appointed by the electoral committee and therefore lacked the authority to announce results.”
“The constitution and guidelines of the party clearly vest the power to appoint election officials in the electoral committee,” he said. “Any declaration outside that authority is null and void.”
He further questioned the credibility of the unauthorized announcement, “alleging inconsistencies in the individual’s role during the election process.”
The latest declaration sparked immediate celebrations in parts of the constituency, which remains one of the most closely watched political contests in Plateau State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
