Gombe 2027: Jamil Gwamna Ready For Debate, Says Spokesman

The spokesperson to the Gombe State APC governorship candidate, Dr Jamil Isyaku Gwamna, Ibrahim Sani Shawai, has said his principal is ready to participate in any debate among candidates contesting the 2027 governorship election.

Shawai, in a statement on Wednesday, said Gwamna would be available “any day, any time” to engage other contenders on issues concerning the development of Gombe State.

He, however, said any proposed debate should go beyond rhetoric, accusations and campaign propaganda, stressing that candidates should be assessed on their experience, capacity, records and measurable results.

“Leadership is bigger than a debate, endless talk, baseless accusations, lies and propaganda. Politics and governance are not an endless contest of words. Leadership is about people, relationships, capacity, experience, institutions and results,” Shawai said.

He said Gwamna had spent more than two decades building relationships across Gombe State and beyond, while investing in people and developing political and professional networks across the public and private sectors.

According to him, the debate should provide an opportunity for candidates to present their records and explain what they had achieved with opportunities previously available to them.

Shawai listed human capital development, employment, education, healthcare, agriculture, water, infrastructure, investment, industrialisation, youth and women empowerment as some of the issues that should feature in the debate.

He specifically challenged other candidates to address employment opportunities he attributed to Gwamna, including more than 1,800 jobs for Gombe indigenes at KEDCO and KAEDCO, as well as over 1,000 jobs at the Gombe State Water Board.

He also cited local and foreign scholarships, capital support for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and youth and women empowerment interventions as areas that should be subjected to public scrutiny.

Shawai said Gwamna’s development agenda was anchored on continuity, sustainability, consolidation and expansion of the development programmes of Governor Inuwa Yahaya.

He noted that the state already had a 10-year development framework under Yahaya, arguing that a change of administration should not automatically result in the abandonment of existing programmes and projects.

According to him, government should be viewed as a continuum because development requires sustained policies rather than repeated cycles of abandonment and restarting.

He challenged other candidates to come to any debate with verifiable records rather than relying solely on promises.

“Let us put the records on the table. Let us debate records, not rhetoric; impact, not propaganda; people, not promises,” he said.

Shawai reiterated that Gwamna was ready to participate in the proposed debate and discuss his record, vision and plans for the future of Gombe State.

“Dr Jamil Isyaku Gwamna is ready. Any day. Any time,” he added.