Gombe PDP Suspends Pantami’s Rivals After Primary Defeat

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State has suspended two of its governorship aspirants, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry, over alleged anti-party activities.

The party announced the suspension in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmed Dukku.

According to the statement, the decision followed an emergency meeting of the State Working Committee and ward executives of Dawaki and Herwagana wards, where the two aspirants are members.

The PDP accused the aspirants of gross misconduct and alleged violations of its constitution, saying their actions could cause division and confusion within the party.

The party specifically cited Mailantarki’s declaration in a media interview that he had won the September 29 governorship primary, despite the official result declaring former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, the winner.

Pantami secured 2,054 votes in the rerun, while Mailantarki polled 389 votes and Garry received 112 votes.

Mailantarki subsequently rejected the result and questioned Pantami’s eligibility to participate in the exercise, indicating that he would challenge the outcome in court.

The PDP said both aspirants had voluntarily agreed to participate in the fresh primary but later engaged in activities it considered contrary to the party’s rules.

It consequently suspended them for one month and referred the matter to the party’s Disciplinary Committee for further action.

The fresh primary was conducted after the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the party’s earlier exercise and ordered a new primary within 30 days. The court had held that the earlier process failed to comply with the party’s internal regulations and relevant electoral provisions.

The PDP subsequently cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to participate in the rerun held on September 29.