Four aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Gombe State have rejected the alleged move to import 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, stated their position in a communique issued after an emergency meeting held on Sunday in Gombe.
They claimed 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.
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 winning votes in another party’s primaries, the communiqué said.
“We consider it imperative to make our position clear in the wake of 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 solely to contest in our party’s governorship primaries,” the communiqué said.
The aspirants said that they “condemn in the strongest terms” any alleged attempt to allow Pantami to participate in the PDP governorship primary, saying such a move could expose the party to avoidable legal battles.
They also warned that any action that could undermine the rule of law could open the door to litigation from aggrieved party members and opposition parties.
The communique also disclosed that the four aspirants had unanimously agreed to allow the PDP leadership in Gombe to select one from among them as the party’s consensus candidate for the governorship election.
They said the decision was taken out of respect for party leadership, especially for the former Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, whom they described as the leader of the party in the state, and the PDP structure in the 11 local government areas and the party elders committee.
The aspirants, while restating that the PDP is still open to new members, said they are strongly against the inclusion of anyone who had participated in another party’s governorship primary.
“We welcome every well-meaning individual into the PDP but we strongly object to any attempt to drag such a person into the ongoing PDP gubernatorial primaries which has reached an advanced stage,” the communiqué added.
