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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