Gombe PDP Aspirants Reject Alleged Pantami Move To Join Governorship Race

Four governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State have opposed an alleged move by the former minister of communication and digital economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, to defect to the party and contest its governorship primaries.

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In a communiqué issued on Sunday and jointly signed by Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Hon. Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, Usman Aliyu Garry, and Monica Kaltho, the aspirants warned that such a development could trigger legal disputes and undermine the party’s internal processes.

The aspirants said they had unanimously agreed to allow the party leadership to choose a consensus candidate from among them for the forthcoming governorship election.

They said the decision was reached in consultation with the party leadership in Gombe State, including former governor and party leader, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo; the State Executive Committee; local government party chairpersons; and the Elders Committee.

According to the communiqué, the aspirants said they had formally signed an undertaking to abide by the party leadership’s collective decision, as a demonstration of loyalty, discipline, and commitment to party unity.

The PDP governorship hopefuls, however, raised concerns about rumours that Pantami, who reportedly participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary on 21 May 2026, was attempting to cross over to the PDP and seek participation in its governorship primary process.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the alleged attempt to smuggle into the PDP primaries an aspirant who, by law and established democratic principles, is ineligible to participate,” the communiqué stated.

LEADERSHIP learns that some sections of the media reports and social media platforms suggest that Pantami is planning to defect to the PDP and join its forthcoming primaries. However, I haven’t heard anything from the former minister’s camp about this.

The four PDP aspirants argued that electoral laws and democratic norms do not permit an individual to contest the same electoral process in two different political parties after votes had already been cast and counted in one party’s primary election.

While affirming that the PDP remains open to welcoming new members, the aspirants insisted that allowing anyone who had already contested another party’s primary election into the PDP governorship race at an advanced stage could expose the party to avoidable litigation.

They called on the PDP leadership to avoid actions that could undermine the rule of law or create internal divisions, warning that any controversial decision could invite legal challenges from party stakeholders or opposition parties.