PDP aspirant Mailantarki rejects Pantami’s victory, claims primary election win — Daily Nigerian

A gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Gombe State, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, has rejected the emergence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.

Mr Mailantarki also declared himself the winner of the party’s rerun governorship primary held on Tuesday.

The PDP conducted the rerun primary after an earlier exercise, with Mr Pantami emerging as the winner.

However, addressing journalists shortly after the results were announced, Mr Mailantarki challenged the validity of Mr Pantami’s participation in the election.

He argued that, based on a Supreme Court judgment which he cited, Mr Pantami was not eligible to contest the primary.

“Therefore, having come second in the election, and going by the Supreme Court judgment 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,” he said.

According to Mailantarki, Mr Pantami was still a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, when the PDP screening committee cleared the aspirants to contest the primary earlier scheduled for May 26.

He argued that the contest should therefore have been between himself and the third-placed aspirant, Usman Aliyu Garry.

Mr Mailantarki vowed to challenge the outcome through the courts, saying he was prepared to pursue the matter to the Supreme Court if necessary.

“I am ready to go to court, even if it means going to the Supreme Court to reclaim my victory at the just-concluded primary election,” he said.