Ward Presiding Officers, Local Government Collation Officers and the Constituency Collation/Returning Officer who conducted the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primary election for the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam (PKK) Federal Constituency have alleged attempts by aggrieved aspirants to induce and intimidate some election officials into supporting a legal challenge to the outcome of the exercise.
The officials made the allegation during a press conference in Jos on Tuesday, where they reaffirmed that the May 16, 2026 primary election was conducted peacefully, transparently and in compliance with the party’s guidelines.
Speaking on behalf of the forum, its Chairman, Chinwatda Tapar, alleged that some officials who participated in the conduct of the primary election had been approached and urged to sign affidavits contrary to what transpired during the exercise.
According to him, the alleged approaches involved promises of political appointments and monetary inducement, while some officials were also subjected to pressure and intimidation.
“Those who made the approach promised appointments by the state government. Whether those people have the authority of the state government to make that approach or not, we cannot say. But those were the promises they made,” Tapar said.
Responding to questions from journalists, Tapar confirmed that some of the officials had been contacted but declined to disclose their identities for security reasons.
“Of course, yes. We will not reveal their identities for security reasons, but we have the record,” he said.
He explained that the forum decided to address the media following what it described as attempts by one of the unsuccessful aspirants in the primary election to challenge the outcome in court by allegedly seeking the cooperation of election officials.
“Our point of concern is the effort by one of the losers in that contest, because we had seven contestants, who insists he won the election. He is trying to secure the cooperation of one presiding officer who will testify for him as being the winner.
“There is no dispute whatsoever as to who the returning officers are. What is in dispute at this point is the approach and what they intend to do with our returning officers,” he said.
The forum maintained that the primary election was conducted in line with the APC Constitution and Guidelines and that a winner was duly declared at the end of the exercise.
It said its members had rejected the alleged approaches because they were inconsistent with the facts surrounding the conduct of the election, adding that relevant information relating to the alleged contacts had been preserved and would be presented to law enforcement agencies, the party or any court of competent jurisdiction whenever required.
The officials reaffirmed their commitment to the integrity of the electoral process and urged party members and stakeholders to allow any grievances arising from the primary election to be resolved through lawful, transparent and democratic processes.
