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APC Primaries: Dickson Chollom Petitions Party Over Alleged Lack of Election in Barkin Ladi

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Dickson Y. Chollom, the lawmaker representing Barkin Ladi Constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly, has petitioned the All Progressives Congress over what he described as the absence of a valid primary election in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.

Chollom, who is seeking reelection under the APC, stormed the party secretariat in Jos on Thursday alongside his aides, supporters and registered party members to formally submit his complaint to the party’s appeal committee.

Addressing journalists shortly after filing the petition, the lawmaker insisted that no House of Assembly primary election was conducted in Barkin Ladi despite reports suggesting otherwise.

“As you are all aware, yesterday was the day slated for the APC House of Assembly primary elections. I am here to submit my petition because the whole of Barkin Ladi, as it was yesterday, there was no election,” he said.

According to Chollom, earlier National Assembly primaries in the local government had previously been postponed due to insecurity concerns, with party officials deciding it would be unsafe to allow voting continue into the evening.

He explained that a similar situation played out during the House of Assembly primaries as election materials reportedly failed to arrive throughout the day.

“From around 11 or 12 o’clock, we began to suspect that something was wrong. Up till 3 p.m. and even 4 p.m., there were still no election materials,” he alleged.

The lawmaker further accused the executive chairman of Barkin Ladi Local Government of interfering with the electoral process by allegedly rejecting officials sent by the APC state leadership to conduct the exercise.

According to him, the officials had already been invited by the party leadership and were preparing for the election before they were turned away.

“The local government chairman came and said he did not recognize the officials sent by the party. He sent them away and locked up the office,” Chollom claimed.

He also alleged that after the confusion, party officials proposed conducting the election using plain sheets of paper instead of official electoral materials.

“They said they should go to the field and use plain paper, then send electronic copies of the results to be printed later,” he said.

Chollom maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and even officials of the APC in the state were aware that no valid election took place in Barkin Ladi.

“We have submitted our petition even to INEC. INEC is aware that there was no election conducted. Even the state party chairman knows there was no election,” he stated.

Despite the controversy, the lawmaker said he and his supporters remained peaceful and prepared for a fresh exercise if ordered by the appeal committee.

“Even if the election will be conducted ten times over, we are ready because we are peaceful people,” he added.

Meanwhile, supporters and APC members from Barkin Ladi who accompanied Chollom to the party secretariat were seen holding green leaves and chanting slogans rejecting the announced results.

The protesters repeatedly declared that “an election that did not take place cannot have results.”

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Lagos 2027 gets hot as Hamzat, Rhodes-Vivour make INEC final list [FULL LIST]

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has unveiled the final list of Lagos State governorship candidate.

The list is contained in a document released by INEC on Saturday in preparation for the 2027 general elections.

According to the document, the Lagos State deputy governor, Femi Hamzat is listed at the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Also on the list is Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate.

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Find attach below document containing the full list.

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Pantami’s Name Missing As INEC Releases Final List Of Gombe Gov Candidates

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, from its final list of governorship candidates for Gombe State ahead of the February 6, 2027 election.

Politics Nigeria reports that the commission released a list of 16 cleared candidates for the election, but Pantami’s name was missing despite his earlier inclusion in the provisional list published on August 29.

Among the candidates on the final list are Bala Bello Tinka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Babayo Ardo Kumo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

Others include Zubairu Mu’azu Halilu of the Labour Party (LP), Lamela L. Silas of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ibrahim Jalo Abubakar of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Adamu Mohammed Ma’aji of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Pantami’s exclusion comes amid a series of legal disputes over his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state.

The former minister had initially sought the APC governorship ticket but left the party after it settled for Gwamna as its consensus candidate. He subsequently joined the PDP and emerged as the party’s flag bearer through voice affirmation at its governorship primary.

However, a Federal High Court sitting in Gombe nullified his initial emergence on May 26, following a challenge to the primary process.

The court ordered a fresh primary election, which Pantami won on September 29 with 2,054 votes, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry.

Garry had challenged Pantami’s emergence, arguing that the required primary election was not properly conducted before the former minister was declared the party’s candidate.

Despite winning the court-ordered rerun, Pantami’s eligibility remained in doubt following the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party membership registers and candidate eligibility.

The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 elections.

The provisions bar political parties from fielding candidates whose names were not included in the membership registers submitted to INEC within the stipulated period.

INEC has maintained that parties found to have violated the requirements will not be permitted to participate in the elections through candidates whose nominations breach the law.

Mohammed Haruna, an INEC national commissioner in charge of information and voter education, said the commission would not allow parties to replace candidates affected by the provisions.

Haruna made the clarification during an appearance on Trust TV’s programme on Wednesday evening, explaining that allowing substitutions would enable political parties to benefit from their own violations.

INEC Chairman Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan

He cited previous disputes involving Zamfara and Plateau states to illustrate the consequences of parties failing to comply with electoral requirements.

“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it,” Haruna said.

He added that allowing parties to substitute candidates in such circumstances would amount to permitting them to benefit from an offence they had committed.

Haruna also indicated that the commission expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by the following Tuesday.

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