APC Secures Control of Plateau Assembly as Court Invalidates Election of All 16 PDP Members

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the outcome of the Langtang north-north constituency poll for the Plateau State House of Assembly, declaring Nimchak Nansak of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful winner.

Despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) initially declaring Nannim Langyi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the victor in the March 18 election, a unanimous judgment by a three-member panel of justices on Saturday deemed Langyi unqualified to contest. The court ruled that the collapse of the PDP structure in Plateau since 2020 rendered the party incapable of sponsoring any candidate.

Lead justice, Abang Okon, declared all votes garnered by the PDP candidate as null and void, stating, “Nimchak Abel Nansak of the APC, who scored the majority of the lawful votes, is hereby declared the winner and duly elected member of the State House of Assembly to represent the good people of Langtang north-north constituency of Plateau State.”

This legal development translates to the APC securing control of all 16 seats previously held by the PDP in the House of Assembly, increasing their tally to 22.

In a related development on November 19, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ousted Mutfwang Manasseh as the Governor of Plateau State. Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu ruled that Manasseh was not validly sponsored by the PDP for the election and ordered the electoral commission to issue a fresh certificate of return to Nentawe Goshwe, the APC candidate in the contested election.