2027: Gombe parties intensify grassroots mobilisation

GOMBE — Political activities are gathering momentum in Gombe State ahead of the 2027 general elections, with parties and aspirants increasingly engaging voters through empowerment programmes, stakeholder meetings, defections, consultations and other grassroots activities.

Although many of the events are presented as party-building, community outreach or empowerment initiatives, the participation of political aspirants, party leaders and supporters has given them a growing political dimension as parties position themselves for the 2027 elections.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other political parties are strengthening their structures across the state’s 11 local government areas.

Recent developments have particularly heightened activity around the governorship contest.

The APC adopted Dr Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as its consensus governorship candidate for 2027 at an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting in May. The party also adopted consensus candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.

The PDP, meanwhile, has concluded another phase of its internal contest following a court-ordered rerun of its governorship primary.

A Federal High Court in Gombe had, on September 24, nullified the party’s earlier primary that produced former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, and ordered a fresh exercise.

The PDP subsequently conducted the fresh primary on September 29, with Pantami, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry participating.

Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate after the rerun, although reports differed on the vote figures announced by different media outlets. Vanguard reported that Pantami polled 2,024 votes, while other reports put his total at 2,054. Mailantarki was reported to have scored 389 votes and Garry 112.

With the rerun, Pantami has secured the PDP ticket through a fresh voting process, subject to any further legal or electoral developments.

Defections reshape political alignments

The political realignment has also been reflected in defections involving prominent figures.

In September, former ADC governorship aspirant for the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency, Alhaji Mohammed Danjuma, popularly known as Garkuwa Babba, defected to the APC and handed over his political structure to the party.

Danjuma, who was a former ADC aspirant for the federal constituency and chairman of the party’s House of Representatives Aspirants Forum, declared his support for the APC’s candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.

The movement of political figures between parties has become a feature of preparations for the next election cycle, with defectors often seeking to retain or transfer their existing political networks.

Empowerment and grassroots mobilisation

Another feature of the emerging political season is the use of empowerment programmes and community engagements by politicians and political groups.

Such activities include the distribution of working tools, financial assistance, business support and programmes targeted at youths, women, traders and other community groups.

While empowerment programmes may serve social or economic purposes, their political significance can also depend on their timing, organisers and the political figures involved.

The events provide opportunities for politicians to interact directly with communities, meet local leaders and strengthen relationships with grassroots organisations.

Similarly, stakeholder meetings, consultations and community visits can provide platforms for political messaging and mobilisation ahead of the elections.

Parties strengthen structures

Beyond the governorship contest, politicians seeking seats in the Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly are also expected to strengthen their networks at ward and local government levels.

Meetings involving party officials, traditional and community leaders, youth and women groups and other political associations are becoming more prominent as the parties prepare their grassroots structures.

The importance of such structures was illustrated by the September 19 Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency bye-election.

APC candidate Usman Maijama’a Kallamu won the contest with 41,121 votes. The election was conducted across 903 polling units in 31 registration areas covering Gombe, Kwami and Funakaye local government areas.

The result has provided the parties with another recent electoral outcome to assess their organisation and support across the constituency.

APC, PDP positions

The APC’s adoption of Gwamna has provided the party with an early governorship candidate around whom it has begun consolidating its political structure.

The PDP’s selection of Pantami, meanwhile, follows a more contested path, beginning with his movement from the APC to the PDP and his initial emergence as the opposition party’s candidate before the Federal High Court ordered a fresh primary.

Pantami’s emergence from the rerun now places him and Gwamna among the principal figures around whom the two major parties are organising their governorship campaigns, while the ADC and other parties continue to seek space in the contest.

Issues likely to shape contest

As political activity increases, attention is also likely to shift from party movements and personalities to issues affecting residents of the state.

These include employment and youth development, education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, security, poverty reduction, local economic development and the quality of public services.

The parties and their candidates will consequently face pressure to explain their programmes and how they intend to address these challenges.

For voters, the growing number of political meetings, empowerment programmes, defections and consultations provides an opportunity to examine the competing messages and distinguish between mobilisation activities and specific policy proposals.

With the major parties already activating their structures, Gombe’s political landscape is entering a more active phase ahead of the 2027 elections.

The formal election period remains ahead, but grassroots political mobilisation and positioning are already becoming increasingly visible across the state.