Group Wants Taraba APC Gov’ship Primary Cancelled

A group of concerned members and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded the cancellation of the party’s governorship primary election in Taraba State.

The leader of the group, Dr Ishak El-Kassim, who addressed newsmen in Jalingo, the state capital, alleged widespread irregularities and non-compliance with electoral guidelines during the exercise.

El-Kassim, who is the director of Communications and Research of the Muazu Jaji Campaign Organisation, described the primary as flawed and lacking credibility. He urged the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to nullify the outcome and order a fresh exercise.

He also alleged that the governorship primary, reportedly held across the 16 local government areas and 168 wards of the state, was marred by the absence of proper accreditation, voter disenfranchisement, intimidation, procedural lapses, exclusion of agents, and alleged manipulation of results.

According to him, “reports gathered from party agents, field supervisors, and supporters indicated that no credible or verifiable primary election was conducted in several parts of the state.”

He specifically raised concerns over a breakdown of electoral procedures in Jalingo Local Government Area, particularly in several polling locations where the exercise allegedly failed to follow due process.

Dr. El-Kassim claimed that, in some centres, including Sintali Ward and polling units around Muhammadu Nya Primary School, Hassan Primary School, Lamorde Primary School, and Sabon Gari Primary School, the process was characterised by confusion, intimidation, voter inducement, and eventual abandonment of voting locations without transparent accreditation or lawful voting.

He further alleged that, some political office holders and party officials moved to undisclosed locations where figures and purported results were allegedly prepared outside the recognised voting process before being taken to a collation centre in Jalingo for announcement.

He accused officials of denying representatives of former Minister of Transportation and APGA governorship aspirant, access to critical stages of the collation and result management process.

According to the group’s leader, the alleged exclusion of agents and observers from accreditation, sorting, counting, and collation stages undermined transparency and raised concerns about the legitimacy of the exercise.

He warned that, if issues raised are not addressed, the alleged irregularities could affect party unity, weaken public confidence in the APC’s internal democratic process and impact its electoral chances ahead of the 2027 general elections in Taraba State.

He called on the APC National Working Committee, the Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee and relevant security agencies to investigate the alleged irregularities, nullify the results of the primary, sanction those found culpable and to conduct a fresh governorship primary in compliance with the Electoral Act and party guidelines.