CLAIM: A viral TikTok video claims former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, broke down in tears after being excluded from the APC’s 2027 Gombe governorship consensus arrangement.
BACKGROUND
What the video shows:
The clip has two sections:
Pantami appeared to sob in front of a microphone.
Two men raising another man’s hand in solidarity (Image attached).
Captions attached to the video which was posted on social media alleged that it happened after Pantami was dropped from the APC governorship race for Gombe State in 2027.
Recall that Pantami had picked up nomination forms but withdrew on Tuesday, citing violations of the Electoral Act 2026 and a lack of communication from the party ahead of the May 21 primary.
The APC had named Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus candidate.
FINDINGS
WITHIN NIGERIA analysed the video and discovered that the video is real, but old and out of context. The team traced the video to April 1, 2024.
In the original video posted on Pantami’s own social media, he was crying during an Islamic teaching session. The crying incident occurred in a sub-5-minute sermon, not a political reaction.
WITHIN NIGERIA discovered that two unrelated events were stitched together. The viral video emerged from the 2024 sermon clip with separate image showing the endorsement of Gwamna by Gov. Inuwa Yahaya and other APC stakeholders.
The endorsement image was overlaid on the left side of the video to create a false connection.
VERDICT
Misleading.
The video of Pantami’s shedding tears is genuine, but the footage is from 2024 and unrelated to the APC governorship process. The caption linking the video to his exclusion from the 2027 race is false.
