Isa Ali Pantami, a former minister of communication and digital economy and an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor of Gombe State, has provided an explanation for his rejection of Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna’s emergence as the party’s consensus candidate.
Gwamna was announced last weekend by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya as the party’s consensus candidate for governor of the state in 2027.
There has been controversy surrounding the decision, with some candidates claiming they were left out of the selection process.
In response to the news, Pantami criticised the procedure that resulted in Gwamna being selected as the consensus candidate in an interview with BBC Hausa.
“What transpired in Gombe State cannot be considered a consensus in terms of justice, by God’s truth. Everyone is in agreement when there is consensus.
First, the result must be personally approved by all parties. Second, representatives must act on behalf of those who are not present.
“Third, it cannot be called consensus because there must be an agreement that complies with the law, and none of these three conditions were fulfilled,” he stated.
Pantami also claimed that the procedure was in violation of the 2026 Electoral Act and mentioned a previous meeting between the governor and candidates for governor.
When we first met, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, the governor, pledged to be fair and proposed that a consensus option be taken into consideration.
“A direct primary would be held if that didn’t work. Guidelines were supposed to be drafted as part of the consensus process, but none of us ever saw them. You must designate an impartial committee that has no prejudice or interest in any candidate and grant them complete authority if you want to reach a consensus.
Additionally, the former minister claimed that there were irregularities in the process of inviting people to the meeting where the consensus decision was made.
“We received less than twenty hours’ notice. It was too late to go by the time we saw it and started getting ready. Since the meeting was supposedly a continuation of an earlier consensus discussion, we even sent a written message asking for more time. To guarantee justice, we wanted to be there. After that, the meeting was rescheduled for Sunday, but nobody told us that a decision would be made on that day.
Pantami reaffirmed his willingness to run in a direct primary election, claiming that this would more accurately represent party support at the grassroots level.
Pantami had already turned in his nomination on Thursday.
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