By Golok Nanmwa
JOS — The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday conducted a court-ordered rerun primary election in 11 wards of Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau State, amid delays in the arrival of electoral officials and materials in parts of Jos South.
As of 4:26 p.m., voters in some wards in Jos South were still waiting for electoral officials and materials, while voting had commenced in parts of Jos East.
At Zawan B Ward in Jos South, voting had yet to begin as of 5 p.m., with eligible voters waiting to cast their ballots.
“We are ready to participate in the election, but we are still waiting for the electoral officials and materials to arrive,” some voters told our correspondent.
In Jos East Local Government Area, however, polling officials arrived around 5 p.m., and voting was underway in Fubor, Shere East and Shere West wards.
The Plateau State APC Chairman, Hon. Rufus Bature, said the rerun was being conducted in compliance with a High Court judgment directing the party to hold fresh primaries in the affected wards.
“We are addressing you in respect of the court order that was made on APC to have a rerun in eleven wards of Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency.
“As a party which respects court rulings, despite the fact that we are the party in control of government, we have subjected ourselves to that ruling, and today we intend to follow the order of the court,” Bature said.
He explained that the exercise, initially scheduled for 8 a.m., was delayed slightly to enable the party to brief the media on developments within the APC in Plateau State.
Bature said the electoral and appeal committees were already in place to oversee the process and handle any complaints arising from the exercise.
“After the conduct of the elections, if there is any appeal, the committee is already handy to attend to such appeals,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the results would be ready by Wednesday evening, describing the exercise as a national assignment.
“This is purely a national function. We in the state are just like staff, so I will allow the Chairman of the Electoral Committee and that of the Appeal Committee to address you,” he said.
The Chairman of the Electoral Committee and Returning Officer, Hon. Simon Karu Elisha, said the committee was deployed by the party’s national secretariat to conduct the rerun in compliance with the court judgment.
“We are here in Plateau State on behalf of the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress, empowered by the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, in response to the High Court judgment that instructed the APC to conduct a rerun in eleven wards of Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency,” Karu said.
He assured party members that the exercise would be transparent and provide a level playing field for all aspirants.
“As a party affair, we want to be very transparent and give every member of the All Progressives Congress an equal playing ground. We will entertain every concern of party members,” he said.
Karu said the rerun was important to the party’s preparations for the 2027 National Assembly elections and efforts to maintain unity ahead of the general elections.
“The APC is interested in every vote of its members, and therefore we take this exercise so seriously to ensure that there is absolute harmony required for the APC to run into the 2027 elections.
“We are here to ensure that all electoral guidelines are being fulfilled,” he said.
He disclosed that voting would take place at the headquarters of the 11 affected wards, with results to be collated and announced the same day.
Karu added that Thursday and Friday would be set aside to receive appeals from aspirants who wished to challenge aspects of the process.
“Today will be the conduct of the elections in all eleven wards at the ward headquarters. Tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday are open to entertain any form of appeal by any aspirant who feels certain things need to be considered or looked into,” he said.
Asked whether aspirants who had recently received political appointments would still participate, Karu said the committee would conduct the rerun for all aspirants whose names appeared on the official list supplied by the national secretariat.
“Our duty is to conduct a rerun, whether you are contesting or not. As far as we have the list, we will conduct the election,” he said.
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