Fact-Check: Misleading – Video of Isa Pantami Crying Was Wrongly Linked to Politics

Claim: Video shows former minister Ali Pantami crying because he lost the APC governorship ticket.

Verdict: Misleading. The video is old and does not relate to current political happenings.

Full Story

A video shared by Rufai Oseni and circulating widely on social media claims former Communications Minister Isa Ali Pantami was crying because he failed to secure the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State. An online news blog, ‘Northern Star’, had, on the 9th of May 2026, published a news report with the headline “Pantami Breaks Down in Tears Over APC Ticket Loss” with a screenshot from the now-viral video as its featured image.

It partly reads, “Former minister Isa Pantami was visibly emotional after losing the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State. He broke down in tears as the party announced Jamilu Gwamna as the consensus candidate.”

The claim surfaced shortly after reports that Pantami rejected the consensus arrangement adopted by the All Progressives Congress in Gombe State ahead of the 2027 governorship election. Multiple reports confirmed that businessman Jamilu Gwamna emerged as the party’s consensus candidate, a move Pantami publicly opposed.

Professor Isa Ali Pantami served as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy from August 21, 2019, to May 29, 2023. Appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, he was the first to hold the title after the ministry was rebranded to include “Digital Economy”. On the 3rd of May 2026, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe announced Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 elections. Gwamna was picked ahead of Isa Pantami, former minister of communications and digital economy.

Ismaila Misilli, director-general of press affairs at the state government house, said in a statement on Sunday that the decision was reached at an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting presided over by Inuwa Yahaya, governor of Gombe and leader of the party in the state.

However, Pantami had rejected the emergence of Gamma and faulted the process which led to Gwamna’s choice as consensus candidate.

“By God’s truth, in terms of justice, what happened in Gombe State cannot be called a consensus. Consensus means that everyone agrees. “He further alleged that the process violated provisions of the 2026 Electoral Act and recalled a prior meeting between the governor and governorship aspirants. He reiterated his readiness to participate in a direct primary election, arguing that such a system better reflects grassroots support within the party.

In the 13-second video originally posted on TikTok by handle @Daily Newspaper Headlines on the 9th of May 2026 and reshared on X (formerly Twitter) by journalist Rufai Oseni on the 13th of May 2026, the photo of the former minister where political supporters held up his hands is placed side by side the video where he was crying and mumbling incoherent words.

A screenshot of the TikTok post.                A screenshot of the published report page

The TikTok post has so far attracted over 18,000 views, 98 likes, and 94 shares, while Rufai Oseni’s post on X has since generated over 14,000 views, 121 likes and 55 reposts.

Findings by NDRFactCheck show that this claim is misleading.

The video was subjected to verification using InVID– a video verification tool- and the keyframes were subjected to further verification using Google Reverse Image Search, and the results show that the emotional video did not originate from the recent political controversy surrounding Pantami’s governorship ambition. The clip was from an Islamic gathering attended by the former minister, where he said he became emotional while making comments after listening to an Islamic sermon. The video first found its way to social media when the former minister posted it on his official TikTok page on the 1st of April 2024 and has since been reshared multiple times.

The ongoing political disagreement quickly generated online reactions, especially after emotional clips of Pantami began circulating across X, Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp. Some users, including Oseni, suggested the video showed the former minister crying over his alleged political loss.

However, there is no evidence linking the viral clip to the APC ticket dispute. This means the video was taken from an unrelated religious event and falsely reframed to fit a political narrative.

The misleading framing reflects a growing pattern in Nigeria’s online information space where old videos are recycled and attached to new political developments to provoke reactions or ridicule public figures. Fact-checkers have repeatedly documented similar cases involving recycled footage, misleading captions, and manipulated contexts during politically sensitive moments.

In recent months, Pantami has remained in the news amid speculation about his political future in Gombe State. Reports earlier in the year suggested he was preparing for a governorship bid despite old clips resurfacing online in which he appeared critical of politics.

The former minister later clarified during interviews that he never declared politics “haram” and defended his participation in partisan politics, saying he joined politics to contribute to governance.

While there are verified reports that Pantami opposed the APC consensus process in Gombe and expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, there is no credible evidence that the crying video was connected to political development.

Importantly, none of the major media platforms that reported the APC ticket controversy identified the viral clip as footage from the aftermath of the consensus decision.

The circulation of the misleading claim also highlights how emotional content is often weaponised online during political conversations. Videos showing politicians crying, praying, or reacting emotionally are frequently stripped of context and repackaged to fit partisan narratives because they attract engagement and ridicule.

Conclusion

The claim that Isa Pantami was crying in the viral video because he failed to secure the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State is misleading.

The video was from an Islamic sermon attended by the former minister, and he had previously shared it himself, stating that he became emotional after listening to a sermon. The footage was later taken out of context and falsely linked to his recent political dispute within the APC.

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