Former House of Representatives member and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Gombe State, Khamisu Mailantarki, has denied reports that he declared himself the winner of the party’s fresh governorship primary.
NEWSNGR reports that Mailantarki in a chat with journalists said he lacked the authority to declare himself the winner of an election conducted by the party, describing the reports as a result of his comments being taken out of context.
The former lawmaker came second in the fresh primary held on Tuesday with 389 votes.
He, however, argued that the votes he received were valid because he was a registered member of the PDP and that the result should have led to his emergence as the party’s candidate.
According to him, the issue of the eligibility of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, to participate in the primary remains unresolved.
Mailantarki argued that Pantami should not have been allowed to contest the fresh primary because, according to him, the former minister did not meet the party’s membership requirements before the initial governorship primary was conducted.
He said the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on party membership had implications for the matter and that, based on the judgment, the Electoral Committee ought to have considered his position in determining the outcome of the primary.
Mailantarki further disclosed that he intends to challenge Pantami’s participation in court, saying he has the constitutional right to seek legal redress over the issue.
He maintained that although the fresh primary was conducted in line with the required procedures, the decision to allow Pantami to participate made the outcome open to legal challenge.
The governorship aspirant also said the questions surrounding Pantami’s eligibility were among the reasons he decided to pursue the matter through the courts.
He said: “I have read many headlines that I declared myself the winner of Tuesday’s fresh governorship primary. I cannot do that because I do not the authority to do that. I was quoted out of context in my press conference after the exercise.”
