GOMBE, Nigeria — Following his official affirmation as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer for the 2027 Gombe State gubernatorial election, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has revealed that his candidacy is driven by an urgent mission to eradicate systemic poverty across the state.
Pantami emerged as the party’s sole consensus candidate on Tuesday during a state-wide affirmation process supervised by the PDP Gombe Electoral Panel.
Okay News reports that Panel Chairman Gregory Yenlong announced the official voting breakdown, confirming that Pantami secured a cumulative total of 52,955 affirmation votes from party delegates across the state’s three senatorial zones, pulling 16,781 votes in Gombe North, 12,752 in Gombe Central, and 23,422 in Gombe South.
Addressing party stakeholders and supporters immediately after the results were declared, Pantami dismissed claims that his sudden defection to the opposition party was fueled by personal ambition, framing his political shift as a necessary intervention for the state’s economic survival.
“This is not about ambition, but about serving humanity. It is not about Isa, but about Gombe State. There is no discrimination. We want our diversity to be our strength, not our weakness,” Pantami stated. “Gombe is the third poorest state in Nigeria with a poverty index of around 74.5 per cent. By implication, our people are living in abject poverty.”
The former minister declared that his upcoming campaign will be built heavily on extensive agricultural and structural reforms, pledging to introduce smart agricultural frameworks, overhaul the state’s public education system, and aggressively pursue foreign direct investment (FDI) to stimulate industrialization and lift households out of economic hardship.
