Fresh crisis rock Gombe PDP as Mailantarki rejects Pantami’s victory, threatens fresh legal action

A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, has rejected the outcome of the party’s fresh governorship primary, insisting that former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, was not eligible to participate in the exercise.

Pantami was declared the winner of the rerun primary conducted on Tuesday by the Johnbull Shekarau-led electoral committee.

The former minister polled 2,054 votes to defeat Mailantarki, who secured 389 votes, while Usman Aliyu Garry received 112 votes.

However, shortly after the declaration of the results, Mailantarki disputed Pantami’s participation, citing a recent Supreme Court judgment which he claimed affected the former minister’s eligibility to contest the primary.

Mailantarki argued that since he finished second behind Pantami, the votes credited to Pantami should not stand, and he should therefore be recognised as the party’s governorship candidate.

“Therefore, having come second in the election, and going by the Supreme Court judgment which declared Pantami not eligible to contest the election, I believe that I am the winner of this primary election conducted today by our party,” he said.

He further alleged that Pantami was still a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when the PDP screening committee cleared the aspirants for the party’s earlier governorship primary scheduled for May 26.

According to Mailantarki, the rerun should have been contested only by himself and Garry.

He vowed to challenge the outcome in court, saying he was prepared to pursue the matter up to the Supreme Court if necessary.

“I am ready to go to court, even if it means going to the Supreme Court to reclaim my victory at the just-concluded primary election,” he said.

The latest dispute follows a September 24 judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, which nullified the PDP’s earlier governorship primary and ordered the party to conduct a fresh exercise within 30 days. The case was brought by Mailantarki and Garry, who challenged the process that produced Pantami as the party’s initial candidate.

The Federal High Court’s ruling found that the earlier primary did not comply with the PDP’s internal regulations and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act. However, the court did not grant the plaintiffs’ request to remove Pantami from the PDP over allegations that he remained an APC member.

Following the judgment, the PDP scheduled the fresh primary for September 29 and cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to participate. The party also stated that the Supreme Court judgment referenced by Mailantarki did not affect Pantami’s eligibility to contest the rerun.

The fresh primary was subsequently held across Gombe State, with Pantami emerging as the declared winner.

Mailantarki’s rejection of the result now raises the prospect of another legal battle over the PDP’s governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 Gombe State election.rr

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