{"id":127262,"date":"2026-05-26T14:57:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=127262"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:57:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:57:35","slug":"gombe-2027-pantami-leaves-apc-picks-pdp-governorship-ticket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/gombe-2027-pantami-leaves-apc-picks-pdp-governorship-ticket\/","title":{"rendered":"Gombe 2027: Pantami Leaves APC, Picks PDP Governorship Ticket"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and emerged as the party\u2019s governorship candidate in Gombe State ahead of the 2027 elections.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pantami\u2019s defection followed his withdrawal from the APC governorship primary in Gombe State, which he reportedly rejected over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exercise.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The development has triggered sharp divisions within the PDP in the state, with some governorship aspirants rejecting what they described as his \u201cimposition\u201d as the party\u2019s candidate.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis is not what internal democracy stands for. You cannot participate in another party\u2019s primary and still be parachuted into our ticket. It is unacceptable,\u201d one of the aggrieved aspirants said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another aspirant warned that the development could destabilise the party ahead of the polls. \u201cIf this is allowed to stand, it will create serious cracks within the PDP in Gombe. Many loyal members will feel sidelined,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The aspirants maintained that Pantami\u2019s participation in the APC governorship primary should automatically disqualify him from contesting another party\u2019s ticket within the same electoral cycle, insisting that such a move violates the spirit of party discipline and internal democracy.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At an emergency meeting in Gombe, they accused some party leaders of attempting to impose the former minister on the party structure, warning that the decision could deepen internal fractures at a critical political period.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pantami, an Islamic scholar and former minister under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, remains one of the most influential political figures in Gombe State.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Political analysts say his entry into the PDP has significantly altered the state\u2019s political calculations ahead of the 2027 governorship election, potentially reshaping alliances and voter dynamics.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and emerged&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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