Pantami secures Gombe PDP governorship ticket

Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has emerged the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State.
He emerged after securing affirmation from party delegates during the party’s primary election held yesterday.
Chairman of the PDP Electoral Committee Panel, Gregory H. Yelong, who announced the result, said the affirmation process was conducted across the three senatorial districts in line with the party’s guidelines.
He explained that Pantami was the sole aspirant cleared for the exercise and received overwhelming support from delegates and party members across the state with Gombe North recording 16,781 votes, Gombe Central 12,752 , while Gombe South returned 23,422 votes, bringing the total number of votes garnered by Pantami to 52,955.
Yelong said the outcome reflected the collective resolve of party stakeholders and supporters across the 11 local government areas of the state.
In his acceptance speech, Pantami described his emergence as a call to service rather than a personal ambition.
“This acceptance is not about Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, but about Gombe State and the collective interest of its people,” he said.
He pledged to provide an inclusive administration anchored on fairness, justice and equal opportunities for all residents, irrespective of tribe, religion or political affiliation.
The PDP governorship candidate further promised to focus on poverty reduction, youth empowerment, agriculture, industrialisation and human capital development if elected governor in 2027.
Daily Trust reports that Pantami defected to the PDP after he lost the ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Although he announced his withdrawal from the contest two days ahead of the election over alleged violation of the Electoral Act, the party announced him as the second runner-up with 12,120 votes.
Meanwhile, one of the four gubernatorial aspirants of the PDP, Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, has rejected the emergence of Pantami as the party’s governorship candidate.
Hamma Saleh said he had participated in a screening exercise conducted ahead of the exercise which was earlier scheduled for Sunday describing the affirmation of Pantami as an act of injustice saying that he would challenge the matter before the court.

المصدر: Daily Trust (NG)