A senior All Progressives Congress (APC) official in Gombe State has publicly accused former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, of neglecting the party and its members during his tenure. The criticism was delivered by the party’s Organising Secretary, Ibrahim Musa Fakas, during a meeting at the state secretariat in Gombe on Tuesday.
The confrontation occurred while Pantami was visiting the office to participate in the APC’s ongoing electronic registration and revalidation exercise. Addressing party stakeholders in Pantami’s presence, Fakas claimed that resentment towards the former minister was widespread among the state’s party executives and supporters.
“Every APC executive here feels hurt by you,” Fakas stated. “You wronged the party, and anyone who tells you that party members are happy with you is lying.” He alleged that Pantami failed to engage with the party’s official structure in Gombe throughout his time in the federal cabinet, despite holding a position no other indigene of the state had previously achieved.
“You held a position that no other person from Gombe has ever held,” Fakas said. “Yet from the time you became minister until you left office, you never once visited the party secretariat.” The Organising Secretary further accused Pantami of abandoning party loyalists and refusing to offer support during critical periods, actions he said have severely damaged the former minister’s reputation within the party.
“Because of this attitude, many people now see you as belonging to another party, the ADC,” Fakas concluded, referring to the African Democratic Congress.
Pantami, who served as minister from 2019 to 2023, has not yet responded to the allegations. His visit to the secretariat was part of his participation in the current APC membership verification drive.
The public criticism highlights a significant internal rift within the Gombe State APC and raises questions about Pantami’s continued influence and relationship with the party base in his home state. The incident underscores the tensions that can surface during internal party mobilization efforts, particularly involving high-profile former officeholders. The outcome of the revalidation exercise and the party’s subsequent cohesion in Gombe may be viewed through the lens of this disclosed executive discontent.
