Gombe PDP Suspends Pantami’s challengers over alleged anti-party activities

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

The suspension was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday, September 30, and signed by the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmed Dukku.

According to the statement, the decision followed an emergency joint meeting of the State Working Committee and ward executives of Dawaki and Herwagana, the respective wards of Mailantarki and Garry.

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The party accused the two aspirants of gross misconduct and alleged violation of its constitution, saying their actions could cause division and confusion among its members.

The development came a day after the party conducted a fresh governorship primary in the state, following a Federal High Court judgment that nullified its earlier primary and ordered a fresh exercise.

Before the rerun, the PDP had cleared Mailantarki, Garry and former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, to participate in the fresh primary.

The party specifically cited Mailantarki’s declaration in a media interview that he had won the September 29 primary, describing the statement as unacceptable.

It said the two aspirants had voluntarily accepted to participate in the primary but later engaged in activities which it considered contrary to the party’s rules and regulations.

“The party therefore suspended the two aspirants for a duration of one month and also referred the matter to the Disciplinary Committee of the party,” the statement said.

The suspension followed the declaration of Pantami as winner of Tuesday’s rerun, in which he polled 2,054 votes, while Mailantarki scored 389 and Garry 112 votes.

Mailantarki subsequently rejected the result and challenged Pantami’s eligibility to participate in the exercise, saying he considered himself the legitimate winner. He also indicated that he was prepared to pursue the matter through the courts.

The fresh primary was conducted after the Federal High Court in Gombe, on September 24, nullified the earlier PDP governorship primary that had produced Pantami through voice affirmation and ordered the party to conduct another exercise within 30 days.

The PDP’s latest statement did not announce any further sanction against Mailantarki or Garry beyond the one-month suspension and referral of the matter to the party’s Disciplinary Committee.