Gombe 2027: Pantami Clinches PDP Governorship Ticket After APC Primary Fallout
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State following his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries over alleged irregularities in the process.
Pantami secured the PDP ticket on Tuesday during the party’s governorship primary election held in Gombe, where he was endorsed through a voice vote as the sole aspirant.
Chairman of the PDP electoral panel, Gregory Yenlong, subsequently declared Pantami as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 governorship election.
Speaking after his emergence, Pantami said his decision to contest the governorship election was informed by his desire to serve the people of Gombe State and provide inclusive leadership based on equity, fairness and justice.
His emergence sets the stage for a major political contest against Jamilu Gwamna of the APC in the 2027 governorship election.
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Pantami’s defection to the PDP followed his disagreement with the APC’s governorship primary process in Gombe. Before withdrawing from the APC race, the former minister had openly rejected the consensus arrangement adopted by the party, insisting that only a transparent and credible direct primary election would reflect the wishes of party members.
He had also raised concerns over what he described as a lack of fairness and transparency in the conduct of the APC primaries, warning that the process could undermine internal democracy within the ruling party.
Although Pantami initially joined the APC governorship race, he later announced his withdrawal on the eve of the primary election, citing alleged manipulation of the process and the imposition of a preferred candidate.
His movement to the PDP, however, sparked controversy within the opposition party, with some aspirants objecting to his sudden entry into the race.
The aggrieved aspirants — Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, Usman Aliyu Garry and Monica Kaltho — argued that allowing Pantami to seek nomination after participating in another party’s process could compromise the integrity of the PDP’s selection procedure.
In a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting, the aspirants maintained that electoral rules should not permit a politician who had participated in another party’s primary process to seek nomination under a different platform within the same election cycle.
Despite the objections, PDP stakeholders proceeded with the primary election and overwhelmingly endorsed Pantami as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship poll in Gombe State.
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