Barr.Nandom Kura declares APC primary results in favour of Gagdi
Yakubu Busari
Member representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rt.Hon.Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, has vowed to take appropriate action over what he described as the fraudulent declaration of fake PKK primary election results in the recently concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries in Plateau State.
The controversy followed conflicting announcements that emerged after the APC primary election conducted across the constituencies of 36 electoral wards.
The Chairman of the Plateau APC Primaries Electoral Committee, Stella Oketete, had on Monday, May 18, 2026, made the clarification during a press briefing held at the APC secretariat along Jos Road in Jos that only the committee-appointed returning officer, Barr. Nandom Andrew Kura, was authorised to officially announce the outcome of the primary election for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the briefing, Gagdi maintained that the primary election which produced him as winner was validly conducted across the 36 electoral wards of the constituency and backed by documentary evidence, including accreditation records, photographs and video recordings.
He specifically dismissed the earlier declaration credited to Daspan Ishaya, describing it as fake and unauthorised.
According to Gagdi, Ishaya was neither appointed by the APC Primaries Electoral Committee nor mandated to announce results for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency.
“If the electoral committee chairman publicly says the person is unknown to her and also releases the approved list of officials mandated to conduct the election, then it clearly means the announcement is fake,” Gagdi said.
The federal lawmaker further questioned how Ishaya could allegedly declare results for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam contest after reportedly conducting election duties elsewhere on the same day.
“You cannot conduct election in one constituency and at the same time appear in Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency to declare another result,” he stated.
Gagdi described the development as fraudulent and disclosed that he intended to pursue the matter appropriately.
“Based on this, I see the act as fraudulent, and I intend to take the matter up appropriately,” he added.
The APC Electoral Committee had earlier distanced itself from the initial declaration and subsequently affirmed Gagdi as the authentic winner of the primary election.
Despite the controversy, Gagdi commended his supporters for remaining peaceful, noting that neither he nor his supporters reacted violently despite the circulation of what he termed fake reports across media platforms.
“Our conduct over the past two days has demonstrated that myself and my supporters are peaceful and law-abiding,” he said.
Also speaking, the APC returning officer for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency primary election, Barr. Nandom Andrew Kura, dismissed claims that no election took place in the constituency due to the late arrival of election materials.
According to him, the election was successfully conducted across all the 36 wards in Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam Local Government Areas, insisting that there was documentary evidence, including videos of accreditation, voting and counting processes carried out at the various venues.
“There was an election in all the 36 wards of Kanke, Kanam and Pankshin Local Government Areas. We have videos of the counting process and activities at the polling units on the day of the election,” Kura stated.
He further confirmed that Yusuf Adamu Gagdi emerged winner of the primary election after polling 29,207 votes out of the 31,150 total votes cast.
Kura maintained that as the duly appointed returning officer, he remained the only person authorised to collate and officially announce the result of the exercise.
“There can only be one authorised returning officer for the election, and I am here at the party secretariat to officially submit the report of the assignment given to me,” he said.
The legal practitioner also warned that anyone who announced results other than himself was impersonating the duly appointed returning officer and could face legal consequences.
“Anyone who announced results for the PKK primary election other than myself is an impersonator, and I reserve the right to take legal action against such a person,” he added.
