Mailantarki: I Didn’t Declare Myself Winner of Gombe PDP Primary

By Williams Danjuma, Gombe

A major contender in the repeat Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship primary election for Gombe State, Hon Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, has denied declaring himself as winner of last Tuesday’s election.

Some newspapers had reported Khamisu declaring himself as winner of the repeat primary election.

But in a statement released to newsmen Wednesday night in Gombe, Hon Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki said he was quoted out of context as he insisted that he should have been declared winner with valid votes considering the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on party membership.

He said, “I have no power to declare a winner of an election. What I said was that I ought to have been declared the winner by the Electoral Committee having come second but with the valid votes based on the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on party membership.

“I have read many headlines that I declared myself the winner of Tuesday’s fresh governorship primary. I cannot do that because I am not the authority to do that. I was quoted out of context in my press conference after the exercise,” he said.

Mailantarki polled 389 votes and claims that those are lawful votes cast for him as a registered member of the PDP, which are enough to make him winner.

He frowned at Pantami’s eligibility, insisting that he should not have been allowed to participate in the fresh primary “because he did not meet the party guidelines on membership before the initial primary elections”, while citing the apex court’s recent judgment on a similar matter.

Mailantarki revealed that he would challenge Pantami’s participation in court because he has the constitutional right to do so under the relevant laws of the country.

According to Mailantarki, issues surrounding Pantami’s eligibility remained unresolved and formed part of the basis for his decision to challenge it.

He explained that while the fresh primary was conducted according to laid-down procedure, the inclusion of Pantami in the contest rendered the whole process contestable.

Mailantarki then commended the PDP leadership in Gombe State, particularly the former Governor and Senator, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, for what he described as efforts to ensure fairness and adherence to due process within the party.