PROFESSOR Isa Ali Pantami has once again emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 governorship election in Gombe State, following a fresh primary election conducted across the 114 wards in the state.
News Point Nigeria reports that the fresh primary was conducted on Tuesday across the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Gombe State, following last Thursday’s judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, which nullified Pantami’s earlier emergence and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary.
The court had held that the process that produced Pantami previously did not comply with the party’s guidelines and applicable electoral provisions.
Announcing the result of Tuesday’s exercise, Chairman of the PDP Governorship Primary Election Committee, Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau, said a total of 2,555 accredited members participated in the election.
Shekarau declared that Pantami polled 2,054 votes to defeat the two other contestants, former member of the House of Representatives, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, and Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry.
According to him, Mailantarki scored 389 votes to emerge as the first runner-up, while Garry, who polled 112 votes, emerged as the second runner-up.
“I, Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau, hereby declare Isa Ali Pantami as the winner of this primary election and return him as the duly elected governorship candidate of the Peoples Demoratic Party (PDP) for the 2027 general elections,” he declared.
Shekarau commended the leadership of the PDP at both the national and state levels for their support, which he said contributed to the successful conduct of the primary election.
He also praised members of the election committee for their cooperation and commitment, as well as security agencies for ensuring a peaceful and orderly process.
The committee chairman further appreciated Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo for “providing a leadership and support during the exercise.”
He thanked party members and the people of Gombe State for their peaceful conduct throughout the exercise.
However, the outcome of the fresh primary was immediately disputed by Mailantarki, who declared himself the winner of the election despite being officially announced as the first runner-up.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the results were announced, Mailantarki argued that, going by what he described as a Supreme Court judgment, Pantami should not have participated in the fresh primary.
“Therefore, having came second in the election, and going by the supreme court judgement 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,” Mailantarki said.
He further argued that Pantami was still a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when the PDP screening committee cleared the aspirants to contest the party’s earlier governorship primary, which was initially scheduled for May 26.
Mailantarki said the fresh contest should therefore have been between himself and Garry, whom he described as the third runner-up.
He vowed to reclaim what he described as his mandate, even if doing so requires another legal battle in court.
“I am ready to go to court, even it if means going to the supreme court to reclaim my victory at the just concluded primary election,” he declared.
The fresh dispute comes after Mailantarki’s earlier legal challenge contributed to the nullification of Pantami’s previous emergence as the PDP governorship candidate. The Federal High Court in Gombe subsequently ordered the party to conduct another primary, a decision that led to Tuesday’s rerun.
Pantami, in his acceptance speech, commended members of the party for voting peacefully during the exercise and called on Mailantarki and Garry to join him in working for the success of all PDP candidates in the 2027 general elections.
He said that, if elected governor, he would provide purposeful leadership and “rescue the state from years of mis-governance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.”
The PDP had previously cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to participate in the fresh primary after the Federal High Court nullified the earlier exercise and ordered a new contest within 30 days.
With Pantami declared winner by the Shekarau-led committee and Mailantarki rejecting the result and threatening further litigation, the outcome of the Gombe PDP governorship primary could now face another legal challenge.