Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant in Gombe State, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, has rejected the outcome of the party’s September 29, 2026, rerun, challenging the eligibility of former Communications and Digital Economy Minister, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami.
Pantami won the primary with 2,054 votes, followed by Mailantarki with 389 and Usman Aliyu Garry with 112 votes.
Mailantarki argued that Pantami’s votes should be voided, insisting that the contest ought to have been between him and Garry.
He cited questions over Pantami’s PDP membership, his earlier participation in the All Progressives Congress governorship process and the timing of his move to the PDP.
Mailantarki said his lawyers had written the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission before the rerun, questioning Pantami’s eligibility. He also alleged that Pantami’s name was absent from the PDP membership register submitted to INEC within the statutory period.
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“I am the runner-up, the second in line in that election. And as far as the law is concerned, I have the valid vote,” he said.
He therefore claimed that excluding Pantami’s votes would leave him as the winner.
The rerun followed a September 24 judgment of the Federal High Court in Gombe, which nullified the PDP’s May 26 primary that initially produced Pantami and ordered a fresh exercise within 30 days.
The court did not, however, disqualify Pantami from the rerun. The PDP subsequently cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to contest.
Garry has also disputed the rerun, alleging that he was prevented from voting in his area and that only five votes were recorded for him after he demanded that voting take place.
The latest objections could trigger another legal challenge over the PDP’s Gombe governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 election.