Confusion has enveloped the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in Plateau State, after two different returning officers announced contradictory results.
In one outcome, the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, was declared the winner. In another, he was reported to have lost to a rival aspirant.
According to the first declaration made on Sunday, the APC Returning Officer, Nandom Andrew Kura, announced that Mr. Gagdi secured 29,207 votes to defeat four other contestants. Henry Jan polled 293 votes, Zhiphion Chrisenthus scored 848, Abbas Wakdum got 430, and John Gozhak trailed with 372 votes.
This result was announced alongside other primary outcomes in the state, including the victory of former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmad Idris Wase, in Wase Federal Constituency, and the emergence of Sadeq Shuaibu, popularly known as “Plaza,” as the consensus candidate for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency.
However, in a separate declaration also made in Pankshin, the Chairman of another electoral committee, Daspan Ishaya, proclaimed Dr. John Tongshinen as the winner of the same primary. According to Mr. Ishaya, Dr. Tongshinen polled 29,968 votes, while Mr. Gagdi received only 5,849 votes.
The conflicting results have thrown the party’s nomination process for the constituency into uncertainty, with both claimants yet to officially respond.