The All Progressives Congress has reversed the outcome of its Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam House of Representatives primary election in Plateau State, declaring incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi, as the winner and disowning an earlier result that named John Tongshinen victorious.

The reversal was announced on Monday at the APC Plateau State Secretariat in Jos by the Chairman of the APC Plateau State Primaries Electoral Committee, Stella Okotete, who described the earlier declaration as unauthorised.

Okotete said the initial result announced in the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam House of Representatives primary election did not follow the party’s approved procedures.

She clarified that only the officially appointed returning officer had the constitutional authority to declare the result of the election.

“Only the officially appointed returning officer, Nandom Kura, has the constitutional authority to declare the results of the primary election,” Okotete stated.

She added that any prior announcement made outside that mandate was invalid and should be disregarded.

Following the clarification, the returning officer, Nandom Kura, officially declared Gagdi the winner of the APC primary election for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam federal constituency held on Saturday.

The earlier result, announced on Sunday at the constituency headquarters in Pankshin by one Monday Daspan, had declared John Tongshinen winner with 29,968 votes against Gagdi’s 5,849 votes.

“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 had said during the initial declaration.

He also claimed that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and security personnel monitored the exercise.

However, Gagdi rejected the earlier declaration, insisting that the primary election was duly conducted across all 36 electoral wards in the constituency.

Addressing journalists after being declared the authentic winner, the lawmaker said accreditation records, videos, and photographs existed to support the credibility of the process.

He dismissed claims of multiple valid results, stating that he was only aware of two announcements, one of which had now been confirmed as illegitimate.

Gagdi further alleged that the earlier declaration made by Daspan Ishaya was fraudulent, arguing 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.”

The fresh declaration reportedly triggered celebrations in parts of Kanam and Pankshin shortly after the announcement.

The Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam federal constituency seat remains one of the closely watched contests in Plateau State ahead of the 2027 general elections.