Pantami Wins Gombe PDP Rerun as Mailantarki Challenges Victory
Prof. Isa Ali Pantami has been re-declared the PDP governorship candidate for Gombe State after a fresh primary, following a court-ordered nullification of his initial win. Despite his victory, runner-up Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki has contested the result, citing Pantami's alleged ineligibility and vowing to pursue legal action up to the Supreme Court.
Professor Isa Ali Pantami has emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Gombe State in the 2027 election after winning the party’s fresh primary conducted across the state’s 114 wards and 11 Local Government Areas on Tuesday, September 29.
Pantami secured 2,054 votes, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, who polled 389 votes, and Usman Aliyu Garry, who received 112 votes. The rerun was held after the Federal High Court in Gombe, on September 24, nullified the earlier primary that had produced Pantami and ordered the PDP to conduct another exercise within 30 days.
The returning officer, Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau, declared Pantami the winner after the results were collated, while Pantami thanked party members for participating peacefully and called on Mailantarki and Garry to work with him for the success of the PDP. In his acceptance speech, Pantami pledged to provide what he described as “purposeful leadership” and said he would work to “rescue the state from years of misgovernance” under the All Progressives Congress (APC) if elected.
The Federal High Court had nullified the May primary over non-compliance with the PDP’s internal procedures and applicable electoral provisions, although it did not grant the separate request to permanently remove Pantami from the PDP or bar him from seeking its ticket.
The result has already triggered another dispute, with Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki declaring himself the rightful winner and challenging Pantami’s eligibility to have participated in the rerun. Mailantarki argued that a recent Supreme Court judgment concerning party membership registers and nomination requirements meant Pantami should not have been allowed to contest, and said that, with Pantami excluded, the contest should have been between himself and Garry.
The PDP had rejected claims that the Supreme Court judgment barred Pantami, while Mailantarki has vowed to pursue the matter through the courts, including the Supreme Court if necessary, meaning the fresh result could face another round of litigation.