By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
GOMBE — Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State for the 2027 election.
Pantami emerged winner of the party’s repeat governorship primary conducted across the 114 wards in the state’s 11 Local Government Areas on Tuesday.
He polled 2,024 votes to defeat his two challengers, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Khamisu Mailantarki, who scored 389 votes, and a former member of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry, who secured 112 votes.
The repeat primary followed the nullification of the earlier PDP governorship primary, which had produced Pantami as the party’s candidate.
The fresh exercise was conducted pursuant to an order of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, following a suit filed by Garry challenging the process that produced Pantami.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed had ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in the state.
The court order consequently brought Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry into another contest for the party’s governorship ticket.
Announcing the results at the Gombe State PDP Secretariat on Tuesday evening, Chairman of the Primary Election Committee from the PDP National Headquarters, Abuja, Hon. Johnbull Shekarau, commended party members and stakeholders for what he described as the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
With the declaration, Pantami is set to lead the PDP into the 2027 governorship election in Gombe State, subject to the completion of relevant electoral and legal processes.
The outcome ends another phase of the party’s internal contest for the governorship ticket following the legal challenge that led to the cancellation of the earlier primary.
All three aspirants participated in the repeat exercise, which was conducted across the state’s 11 local government areas and 114 wards.
The development is expected to shape the political configuration ahead of the 2027 governorship election as political parties intensify preparations for the wider contest.
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