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 after defecting from the ruling All Progressives Congress. Pantami secured the PDP ticket during the party’s governorship primary held in Gombe on Tuesday, where……
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 after defecting from the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Pantami secured the PDP ticket during the party’s governorship primary held in Gombe on Tuesday, where he was returned through a voice affirmation process as the sole aspirant.
Chairman of the PDP Electoral Panel, Gregory Yenlong, announced him as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
Speaking after his emergence, Pantami said his decision to contest was driven by a desire to serve the people of Gombe State.
He also promised to run an inclusive administration anchored on justice and fairness if elected governor.
READ ALSO: Pantami, Sai’du Alkali Withdraw From Gombe APC Governorship Primary
Pantami will now face Jamilu Gwamna, who earlier emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the state.
Before leaving the APC, Pantami had criticised the process that produced Gwamna as the party’s consensus candidate.
Although he initially pushed for direct primaries, he later withdrew from the APC governorship race on the eve of the exercise, alleging lack of transparency in the process.
His eventual defection to the PDP had earlier triggered opposition within the party.
Days after the APC primary, four PDP governorship aspirants raised concerns over what they described as attempts to impose Pantami on the party.
The aggrieved aspirants, Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Hon. Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry and Mrs Monica Kaltho, argued that it was improper for a politician who had participated in another party’s primary process to immediately seek nomination under a different platform.
In a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting in Gombe, the aspirants maintained that while the PDP remained open to new entrants, they opposed involving “a person who already contested primaries in another party.”
