The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has intensified as aggrieved aspirants filed multiple petitions before the National Assembly Appeal Committee, describing the recently concluded primaries as deeply flawed and lacking credibility.

According to documents submitted to the committee, nine petitions emerged from the Senate primaries, while eight others were filed over the House of Representatives contests.

Speaking on behalf of the dissatisfied National Assembly aspirants, Senator Diket Plang, who represents Plateau Central, alleged that no valid senatorial primary election was conducted in several areas of the state.

Plang claimed that where voting processes began, they were either abruptly stopped, manipulated, or replaced with what he described as “allocated results.”

“For someone to sit and allocate 1,423 votes to me as a sitting senator, when my ward alone has over 2,000 registered party members, is blackmail and unacceptable,” he said.

The lawmaker argued that the APC’s directive for direct primaries involving all registered members was ignored and replaced with irregular procedures, including missing accreditation records, absence of agents, and unofficial results circulated on social media.

He also accused some unnamed party officials of allegedly using the President’s name to impose preferred candidates, insisting such claims were false and misleading.

In a related development, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Gyang Zi, a former aspirant for the Plateau North Senatorial ticket, announced his withdrawal from the race and issued a ₦10 billion demand notice against the APC.

In a letter addressed to the APC National Chairman, Zi said he was stunned to see his name listed among “not cleared” aspirants on the party’s official social media platform on the morning of the primary election without any prior notice or explanation.

Although the post was later deleted, Zi maintained that the publication had already damaged his image and weakened his support base.

He is demanding the refund of his ₦20 million nomination form fee, ₦2 million state processing fee, ₦60 million spent on campaigns, ₦10 billion in defamation damages, and a formal written apology from the party.

According to him, the publication destabilised his political structure and unfairly undermined his chances in the contest.

Also speaking, Hon. John Dafwan, who represents Shendam/Qua’an Pan/Mikang Federal Constituency, alleged that the primaries were marred by widespread procedural violations, lack of transparent collation, and in some cases, complete absence of voting.

He specifically cited Shendam Local Government Area, where he claimed no election was held despite results later emerging.

“If something did not take place, it did not take place. You cannot allocate votes for an election that never happened,” Dafwan said.

Despite the complaints, Dafwan reaffirmed his loyalty to the APC and urged the party leadership to address the alleged irregularities to prevent deeper divisions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The APC Appeal Committee is expected to review the petitions and make recommendations in the coming days, while the aggrieved aspirants insist that any manipulated results must be cancelled and fresh primaries conducted where necessary.