24/09/2026
We are awaiting confirmation of the acceptance of this debate this morning. Professor Isa Ali Pantami is ready for it.
Gombe 2027: Pantami Ready to Debate Records, Ideas and the Future of Gombe
Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, CON, FCIIS, FBCS, FNCS (Majidadin Daular Usmaniyya and Wazirin Pantami) the Gubernatorial Candidate of the People's Democratic Party, gladly welcomes the acceptance of the invitation to an open debate on the future of Gombe State. This debate should be made open to the people of Gombe, and equally be televised so that the public can assess, analyse, digest, ask questions and judge for themselves regarding the issues discussed in the process. To exemplify his readiness to discuss these pressing issues bedevilling our state and the way forward, Malam Isa Ali Pantami is ready to appear for the debate as early as tomorrow, Thursday 24th September, 2026 by 10am.
As a proven technocrat of unrivalled administrative experience and adeptness, Prof. Pantami, during the fledgling days of his administration, was given an eight-point priority agenda, which he magnificently delivered on with an “A” grade in a rating by the Federal Government, KPMG and FCDO. That unprecedented feat remains unmatched to this day.
Furthermore, throughout his tenure at the helm of various government offices as a public official, Prof. Pantami has never crippled any of the offices he held by leaving them burdened with huge debts, gross misconduct or administrative limbo to the extent that a regulatory agency under his tutelage had to wade in. Instead, with the help of Allah, he delivered and even extended his mandate, which subsequently led to a deluge of encomiums from all and sundry.
Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has always believed that leadership is best subjected to public scrutiny constructively, and he is therefore ready to engage any of the governorship candidates in a serious and issue-based conversation about the future of Gombe. The debate should not be about personalities, insults or empty political rhetoric, but about ideas, records, capacity, measurable achievements and what each candidate intends to do differently for the people of Gombe State.
Without mincing words, Prof. Pantami comes to the governorship conversation with a record that speaks for itself. As Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and subsequently as Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, he was entrusted with institutions and responsibilities that touched the lives of millions of Nigerians, and the outcomes of that period remain available for public examination. His tenure was marked by major policy interventions, institutional reforms, digital infrastructure projects, human-capital development and the expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Under Prof. Pantami’s stewardship, Nigeria implemented the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, launched 5G services, expanded broadband pe*******on, strengthened the digital identity ecosystem and accelerated the country’s digital transformation agenda. More importantly, during his tenure, the ICT sector recorded remarkable growth and reached successive record levels in its contribution to Nigeria’s GDP. Its contribution to real GDP rose from 14.07 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 to 17.83 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, and subsequently reached 17.92 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 and 18.44 per cent in the second quarter of 2022. The sector also recorded the highest growth rate of any sector in the fourth quarter of 2020.
In terms of revenue generation, official figures released by the Federal Republic of Nigeria through its various statutory agencies reported more than ₦1.054 trillion generated for the Federal Government between August 2019 and July 2021. The figure included revenue from spectrum-related activities and taxes paid by ICT companies, among other sources. These are verifiable records, not mere political postulations.
Records from the Federal Government during the period he was in government also documented 21 national policies developed under the Ministry, more than 4,000 projects, programmes, initiatives, trainings and centres established across the country. It suffices to add the fact that an estimated 219,000-plus Nigerians had directly benefited from digital-skills training during the period covered by the government’s assessment.
There is hardly any part of Nigeria that does not bear the imprint of projects facilitated through the Ministry and its agencies during Prof. Pantami’s tenure. Gombe State was not left behind. Digital, educational, skills-development and other interventions were implemented across the state, alongside projects in all six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
More specifically, Prof. Pantami’s recently released compendium on his interventions in Gombe documents over 241 legacy projects and more than 700 employment opportunities recorded during his years in public service. Some of the appointments are higher than a regional Managing Directors, such as MD, Galaxy Backbone, Chairmen of Federal Government Boards such as NITDA, NIPOST, NIMC among others. Also these interventions cut across the state’s 11 local government areas and provide a basis for our teeming citizens to examine his contribution to the development of Gombe beyond campaign rhetoric.
In terms of human-capital development, his record was not confined to Abuja. As stated earlier, more than 4,000 projects, policies, trainings, programmes and digital interventions were implemented across the federation, including in Gombe State. Young Nigerians were trained in digital skills, entrepreneurs received support, communities benefited from digital infrastructure, and government institutions were brought into the broader digital-transformation agenda. These are records that can be independently examined rather than merely asserted on campaign platforms.
That is why Prof. Pantami welcomes the challenge of a debate as initially proclaimed. If the conversation is about employment, let us examine the employment record. If it is about human-capital development, let us put the numbers and beneficiaries on the table. If it is about institutions, let us examine the institutions each candidate has managed and what was achieved under his stewardship. If it is about economic development, let us discuss revenue, investment, productivity, infrastructure and the measurable contribution of each person’s previous responsibilities.
And if the conversation is about Gombe, then let us move beyond slogans and discuss precisely how we intend to transform the state’s economy, improve education and healthcare, create productive employment, strengthen agriculture, expand industrialisation, develop human capital and provide opportunities for the young people who constitute the majority of our population.
Prof. Pantami has offered himself for this conversation because he believes Gombe deserves an election in which ideas are tested, records are examined and candidates are held accountable for what they say and what they have previously done.
Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is ready. Any day. Any time. Let us debate the issues that matter to Gombe. We are available as earlier as tomorrow, Thursday 24th of September, 2026 by 10am.
May Allah bless Gombe State.
May Allah bless Nigeria.
Signed:
Professor Suleiman Mohammed Gombe.
(For the Pantamiyya Movement)
23/9/2026.
