Constituents of the Barkin Ladi State Constituency in Plateau State have taken their protest to President Bola Tinubu and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, over the alleged absence of electoral officers during the recently concluded State House of Assembly party primaries.
The protesters alleged that elections were not conducted anywhere in Barkin Ladi Constituency, yet results were announced declaring a winner, allegedly against the incumbent lawmaker, Hon. Dickson Chollom.
Leader of the protesters, Mr. Tigana Audu Yakal, who also serves as the Director-General of the campaign organization for Hon. Dickson Chollom, spoke to journalists on Tuesday during a peaceful protest at the APC Secretariat in Jos. He insisted that no election was held in Barkin Ladi.
Yakal, who described himself as one of the founding members of the APC, said the party is known for justice and fairness, but lamented that a few individuals in Plateau State were allegedly tarnishing the image of the party for selfish interests.
He disclosed that the group had earlier submitted its complaints to the APC Appeal Committee after protesting at the party secretariat in Jos.
The protest leader appealed to President Tinubu and Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, as leaders of the party, to intervene by directing the State House of Assembly election committee to conduct fresh primaries in Barkin Ladi Constituency in order to avoid disunity within the party.
According to him, Hon. Dickson Chollom fulfilled all requirements and processes necessary to participate in the primaries and enjoys overwhelming support among APC members in the constituency, but was allegedly denied victory.
An elderly APC member, Mohammed Adam, a Muslim cleric popularly known as Ladan of Kura Mosque, who spoke in the Hausa dialect, also lamented that many constituents waited from morning till evening for the electoral committee, but none arrived to conduct the primaries.
He also called for the exercise to be repeated.
Similarly, the Women Leader, Mrs. Lydia Luka, insisted during an interview with journalists that the APC State House of Assembly primaries for Barkin Ladi must be conducted to clear all doubts surrounding the exercise.
In his remarks, a concerned youth, Mr. David Nanpet, expressed anger over the development, alleging that party members were deceived because elections were not held despite the announcement of results.
Nanpet warned that if their grievances were ignored, they would refuse to support the APC candidate allegedly declared the winner and instead mobilize support for candidates from other political parties in the 2027 general elections.
He also called on the Plateau State APC Chairman, Hon. Rufus Bature, who hails from Barkin Ladi, to ensure that proper party primaries are conducted in the constituency.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: “There was no election in Barkin Ladi,” “Our mandate cannot be stolen,” “We say no to imposition of candidates,” and “We have been APC members from inception; no one can shortchange us.”
Some of the protesters further alleged that the crisis within the APC in Barkin Ladi stemmed from the recent defection of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the APC, following the defection of Governor Caleb Mutfwang and members of his political camp to the ruling party.
