PDP kicks as Dankwambo’s name appears on Gombe APC campaign list

There is growing confusion in Gombe State following the appearance of the name of former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo on the list of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council.

Dankwambo, who is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, is contesting for the Gombe North Senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections under the PDP platform.

The list, published in national dailies on Monday, includes Dankwambo as a member of the APC campaign structure—a development that has stirred confusion among PDP supporters in the state.

However, the state chapter of the PDP has officially disassociated Dankwambo from the APC’s advisory and campaign council list.

The 666-member campaign council, chaired by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, contains the names of prominent APC figures, including Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje, Senator Usman Bayero Nafada, and Senator Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali. Senator Dankwambo’s name is listed alongside these top party chieftains appointed to drive the APC campaign ahead of the 2027 elections.

Specifically, Senator Dankwambo appears at number seven on the 666-member campaign council list and number six on the 66-member advisory council, placing him above key figures within the state APC.

The development is already generating intense reactions. As a former governor and serving political leader, Dankwambo is widely regarded as the face of the PDP in Gombe State, making his inclusion on the ruling party’s campaign list a major talking point.

The inclusion has sparked questions about whether the senator has defected to the APC or relinquished his senatorial bid to enter into an alliance with the ruling party in the state.

This development comes at a time when former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, is fighting to secure a place on the ballot under the PDP after his name was omitted from the final list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Our correspondent reports that Dankwambo belongs to the faction of the PDP led by the Minister of the FCT, Barr. Nyesom Wike.

The State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Abdulkadir Ahmad Dukku, said in a statement that the inclusion of Dankwambo’s name on the APC campaign list was intended to create confusion among PDP members and supporters in the state.

“Our attention has been drawn to the publication of a list of members of the APC campaign council in Gombe State, recently published in national dailies and across social media platforms,” Dukku said.

“The list, which contains the name of the Gombe State PDP Leader, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, as a member of the Advisory Committee of the APC Campaign Council in Gombe State, is fake and intended to cause confusion among members and supporters of the PDP in the state.”

He further disassociated the party and its leader from the purported list, adding that Senator Dankwambo was unaware of the development.

The publicity secretary stressed that Dankwambo remains a leading member of the PDP at both state and national levels and is “also the PDP senatorial candidate for Gombe North in the forthcoming general elections.”

Dukku accused the ruling APC in the state of engaging in “fabricated acts, calculated to cause mistrust and chaos among members and supporters of the PDP in Gombe State ahead of the 2027 general elections.”