Gombe NNPP governorship candidate defects to PDP

The 2023 governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Gombe State, Khamisu Mailantarki, on Saturday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This move comes after Mailantarki resigned from NNPP in July this year but didn’t immediately join another party.

Speaking during his reception ceremony at the party’s secretariat, Mailantarki said he joined PDP to help revitalise the party to unseat the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state in 2027.

Mailantarki alleged that the APC government at the federal and state levels has failed woefully in delivering good governance. He claimed that the PDP is the only strong party capable of seizing power from the APC, hence his decision to join after quitting NNPP.

He criticised the state governor, Inuwa Yahaya, over some of his administration’s uncompassionate policies, such as revoking land titles and compelling civil servants to undergo biometric registration every day at their workplaces, the failure of which renders them ineligible for salary payment.

According to him, it is unfair to force workers to go to work five times a day during this period of economic hardship without commensurate salary.

Also, the state PDP Chairman, Abnor Kwaskebe, who received the governorship candidate, said his defection was a huge success for the party and promised a level playing ground for all members.