Controversy Trails Pantami’s Resignation From APC

Controversy has trailed the purported resignation of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State.

While Pantami’s camp claimed that he resigned from the APC before joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), some executive members of the APC in Pantami Ward, Gombe Local Government Area, disputed the claim.

Naija News understands that Pantami has since emerged as the PDP governorship candidate in the state.

However, the APC Chairman in Pantami Ward, Alhaji Bala Galda, said he personally received Pantami’s resignation letter.

In an interview with Daily Trust, Galda said the letter was dated May 19 and that he thumbprinted the acknowledgement copy alongside the ward legal adviser, Malam Babangida Gololo.

Galda said, “When Prof. Pantami joined the PDP and clinched its ticket for governorship election, the party leadership at the Local Government level summoned all the Pantami Ward executives and directed us not to receive or sign any resignation letter from him when he presented it to us.

“But I told the meeting that I had already received, signed and thumbprinted the letter since May 19, because there was no directive or legal requirement that mandated me to inform the party leadership at the local government or state level whenever a member voluntarily decided to resign from the party.”

Galda further alleged that party leaders asked him to deny knowledge of Pantami’s resignation letter, a directive he said he rejected.

“I told them that I could not deny what I knew to be a fact, especially since my fingerprints were on the letter, which is currently in possession of Prof. Pantami,” he said.

The APC Legal Adviser in Pantami Ward, Malam Babangida Gololo, said there was no constitutional requirement compelling an ordinary member of a political party to submit a written resignation before joining another party.

“In practice, joining a new party is often treated as clear evidence of exit from the former one,” he said.

When contacted, the Gombe State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Moses Kyari, said the party had asked the ward chairman to produce the acknowledged copy of the resignation letter.

He said Galda failed to present it. According to Kyari, the ward secretary, not the chairman, was expected to receive such a letter.

“Be that as it may, we asked him to appear before the party or give us the original copy of the said resignation letter presented by Pantami. But until now he remained incommunicado and refused to honour the party’s invitation,” Kyari said.

Kyari insisted that, as far as the APC was concerned, Pantami’s name remained on its membership list on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

“Therefore, as far as the party is concerned, Pantami’s name is still on its membership list on the INEC portal. We are not saying that he must remain in the party, but he has to follow the right procedure when resigning from the party,” he explained.