One of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirants in Gombe State, Khamisu-Ahmed Mailantarki, has described the emergence of Isa-Ali Pantami as the party’s governorship flagbearer as “a very sad situation,” insisting that aspirants had already fulfilled all constitutional and electoral requirements before the process changed.
Speaking on the development, Mailantarki said four aspirants had been contesting for the PDP ticket and had complied with all laid down procedures before the primary election date was altered.
“About four of us are contesting this post. We followed all the due diligence from the beginning. We bought forms, were screened properly and surprisingly, the primary that was supposed to hold on the 24th was shifted to the 26th,” he said.
Mailantarki stated that the aspirants welcomed Pantami into the PDP but questioned the timing of his entry into the race.
“We had a rumor that Professor Ali Isa Pantami is going to join the party. We welcome him because the party needs a lot of people to participate,” he said.
“But looking at the timeframe of him joining the party and in line with the process of nomination for aspirants contesting, it was too close. We don’t know what is happening.”
Meanwhile, the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in Gombe State, Abdulkadir Ahmad, defended Pantami’s emergence as the party’s governorship candidate.
Speaking during a telephone interview with our correspondent in Gombe on Wednesday, Ahmad said he was aware of the complaints raised by Mailantarki and another aspirant, Hamma Saleh, over their exclusion from the affirmation ceremony.
“I heard the complaint of Hamma Saleh and Mailantarki. They were complaining about not being invited to the ceremony and threatening court action,” he said.
“Every individual is at liberty to seek redress in court if they feel aggrieved.”
Ahmad maintained that Pantami followed all due process in joining the PDP and contesting for the party’s ticket.
“All that Professor Isa did was in order. He obtained his membership registration in the party, purchased the nomination form, and was duly screened in Abuja. Everything he did followed the laid down procedures,” Ahmad stated.
Reacting to allegations that Pantami participated in the All Progressives Congress governorship primary before defecting to the PDP, Ahmad said the former minister had publicly withdrawn from the APC race before the primary election.
“That withdrawal was announced on radio, social media and other conventional media platforms. Even if the APC later included his name in the results, that would not hold water because he had already made his position clear,” he added.
However, Ahmad admitted he could not confirm whether Pantami formally resigned from the APC before joining the PDP.
“I may not know about his formal defection from the APC. What I know is that he duly registered with the PDP and obtained the party’s nomination form. If there were official documents regarding his resignation from the APC, maybe party officials handling that aspect would know better,” he said.