Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki has moved to clarify his position on the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship primary in Gombe State, saying he never had the authority to declare himself the winner of the fresh exercise.
The former member of the House of Representatives said his comments after the September 29 primary were misunderstood and presented in a manner that suggested he had personally announced himself as the party’s candidate.
Mailantarki, however, maintains that there is a legal question surrounding the eligibility of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to participate in the repeat primary. His argument is that if Pantami’s participation is ultimately found to have been unlawful, the 389 votes he received should be considered in determining the rightful outcome.
The clarification comes after the PDP’s electoral committee formally declared Pantami the winner of the fresh primary.
The exercise was conducted across Gombe State following a Federal High Court judgment delivered on September 24, which nullified the earlier process through which Pantami had emerged as the party’s governorship candidate.
In the fresh contest, Pantami secured 2,054 votes, while Mailantarki received 389 votes and former Gombe State House of Assembly member Usman Aliyu Garry polled 112 votes. The figures were announced by the chairman of the primary election committee, Johnbull Shekarau.
Mailantarki’s latest position does not dispute the fact that Pantami received the highest number of votes among the three aspirants who participated. Instead, his argument centres on whether Pantami was legally entitled to be on the ballot in the first place.
Explaining his position, Mailantarki said he could not declare himself winner because such a declaration belongs to the electoral committee responsible for conducting and announcing the result.
He maintained that his contention was that, based on his interpretation of a recent Supreme Court judgment concerning political party membership and the applicable electoral provisions, Pantami should not have participated in the primary.
According to Mailantarki, the votes credited to him were valid votes cast by registered PDP members. He therefore believes that if Pantami is subsequently found ineligible, the 389 votes he obtained would leave him ahead of Garry, who finished third with 112 votes.
That position is at the heart of the emerging legal dispute.
The September 24 Federal High Court judgment that triggered the fresh primary nullified the earlier process that produced Pantami as the PDP candidate. However, the court did not grant the request to remove Pantami from the PDP or permanently bar him from participating in another primary. The party subsequently cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to contest the rerun.
Mailantarki is now relying on a separate argument concerning party membership requirements and the effect of the Supreme Court’s recent judgment. He contends that Pantami’s membership status and the timing of his movement into the PDP raise questions about his eligibility to participate in the process.
The PDP, however, proceeded with the primary and included Pantami among the cleared aspirants. The electoral committee subsequently declared him the winner after the votes were collated.
This distinction is important because Mailantarki is not simply claiming that he defeated Pantami in the numerical count. His argument depends on the legal status of Pantami’s participation.
If a court were to uphold Mailantarki’s interpretation and determine that Pantami was not eligible to contest, the legal consequences for the primary would then have to be determined through the appropriate judicial process. At present, there is no court declaration making Mailantarki the winner of the September 29 primary.
The controversy has added another layer to the PDP’s prolonged struggle over its Gombe governorship ticket.
Pantami had initially emerged as the party’s candidate at the May 26 primary through a voice affirmation. That process was challenged by Mailantarki and Garry, who argued that the exercise did not comply with the party’s rules and applicable electoral requirements.
The Federal High Court subsequently ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary, leading to Tuesday’s rerun. The latest exercise was conducted as a direct primary involving the three aspirants.
Mailantarki has indicated that he is prepared to take the eligibility dispute to court, arguing that he has a constitutional right to seek judicial interpretation of the issues involved.
His latest clarification therefore leaves two separate issues on the table: the official result of the fresh primary, which gave Pantami the highest number of votes, and Mailantarki’s legal challenge to Pantami’s eligibility to have participated in that contest.
For now, Pantami remains the candidate declared by the PDP’s electoral committee, while Mailantarki’s challenge represents a continuing legal dispute over the validity and consequences of the fresh primary.
Mailantarki has also commended the Gombe PDP leadership, particularly former governor and serving senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, for what he described as efforts to promote fairness and adherence to due process within the party.
The dispute is now moving beyond the counting of votes and into the question of eligibility, party membership requirements and the proper interpretation of recent judicial decisions. The courts will ultimately determine the legal effect of Mailantarki’s challenge if the matter proceeds to judgment.
