Four governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State have rejected an alleged move to bring former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, into the party’s governorship primary race ahead of the 2027 elections.
The aspirants, Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Hon. Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry and Mrs. Monica Kaltho, made their position known in a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting held on Sunday in Gombe.
They alleged that there were plans to “smuggle” Pantami into the PDP after he had already participated in the governorship primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress,APC, on May 21, 2026.
According to the communiqué, the aspirants argued that the Electoral Act and democratic principles do not permit an aspirant to defect from one political party to another and still participate in the same electoral process after already contesting and securing votes in another party’s primaries.
“Following the rumoured attempt by an aspirant, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, who participated in the recently concluded governorship primaries of the APC, to defect to the PDP with the sole aim of contesting in our party’s governorship primaries, we deem it necessary to make our position known,” the communiqué stated.
The aspirants said they “condemn in the strongest terms” any alleged attempt to allow Pantami to participate in the PDP governorship primary, insisting that such a move could expose the party to avoidable legal battles.
They further warned that any action capable of undermining the rule of law could trigger litigation from aggrieved party members and opposition parties.
The communiqué also revealed that the four aspirants had unanimously agreed to allow the PDP leadership in Gombe to select one among them as the party’s consensus candidate for the governorship election.
The decision, they said, was reached out of respect for the party leadership, particularly former Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, whom they described as the leader of the party in the state, alongside the PDP structure across the 11 local government areas and the party’s elders committee.
While reiterating that the PDP remains open to new members, the aspirants maintained that they strongly oppose the inclusion of anyone who had already taken part in another party’s governorship primary.
“While we welcome every well-meaning individual into the PDP, we strongly object to any attempt to involve such a person in the ongoing PDP gubernatorial primaries, which have already reached an advanced stage,” the communiqué added.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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