Gombe PDP Suspends Mailantarki, Garry over Alleged Anti-Party Activities after Governorship Primary
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State has suspended two of its governorship aspirants, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry, for one month over alleged anti-party activities following the party’s repeat governorship primary.
The party announced the suspension in a statement dated September 30, 2026, and signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmed Dukku.
According to the statement, the decision was taken at the end of an emergency joint meeting involving the PDP State Working Committee and executives of Dawaki and Herwagana wards in Gombe, where the two aspirants are registered members.
The party accused Mailantarki and Garry of engaging in conduct it considered contrary to its constitution following their participation in the September 29 governorship primary.
“The actions of the two aspirants, despite their willful acceptance to participate in the recently conducted party gubernatorial primary elections, amounts to gross misconduct and violation of party constitution capable of causing divisions and confusion among party members,” the statement said.
The PDP particularly criticised Mailantarki over comments he made to journalists after the primary, in which he rejected the official result and declared himself the legitimate winner of the contest.
Mailantarki had challenged the eligibility of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to participate in the repeat primary and said he was prepared to return to court to contest the outcome. Garry also questioned Pantami’s eligibility and the validity of the exercise.
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The party’s electoral committee, chaired by Johnbull Shekarau, officially declared Pantami winner of the September 29 direct primary after he polled 2,054 votes. Mailantarki received 389 votes, while Garry secured 112 votes, according to results announced at the PDP state secretariat in Gombe.
The repeat exercise followed a September 24 judgment of the Federal High Court in Gombe which nullified the earlier primary that produced Pantami and directed the PDP to conduct a fresh exercise.
Ahead of the rerun, the PDP had cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to participate in the contest.
Following the fresh primary, however, Mailantarki argued that Pantami was ineligible to participate based on his interpretation of a recent Supreme Court judgment and the circumstances surrounding Pantami’s movement from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP.
Mailantarki maintained that the rerun should have been contested only between himself and Garry and, having finished ahead of Garry, claimed he should be recognised as the PDP candidate. He vowed to pursue the dispute through the courts, including the Supreme Court if necessary.
Pantami’s eligibility remains disputed by his rivals; their claims have not been established as a judicial determination barring him from the September 29 primary.
In its statement announcing the disciplinary action, the Gombe PDP said both aspirants had been suspended for one month and that their cases had been referred to the party’s disciplinary committee for further consideration.
The statement did not specify what further sanctions could follow the disciplinary proceedings.
The suspension adds another dimension to the internal dispute over the PDP governorship ticket in Gombe State, less than a week after the Federal High Court judgment triggered the repeat primary and a day after Pantami was again declared the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
By PRNigeria
