Pantami Loses Gombe PDP Ticket as Court Orders Fresh Primary
The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified Professor Isa Ali Pantami’s emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 governorship election in Gombe State.
The court also directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in line with its constitution, guidelines and applicable electoral laws.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed delivered the judgment on Thursday in a suit filed by Usman Aliyu Garry, a PDP governorship aspirant who challenged the process that produced Pantami as the party’s candidate.
Garry had argued that the procedure used to select Pantami did not amount to a valid governorship primary and was inconsistent with the party’s rules and electoral requirements.
Pantami emerged as the PDP candidate through voice affirmation at the party’s governorship primary in May 2026. He was subsequently presented as the party’s sole candidate for the election.
The former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy had moved to the PDP after withdrawing from the APC governorship contest in Gombe.
His exit from the APC came after the party settled on Jamilu Gwamna as its candidate.
Pantami’s emergence in the PDP later sparked objections from other aspirants, including Garry, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, who questioned the process through which he secured the ticket.
Garry subsequently took the matter to court, asking the Federal High Court to set aside Pantami’s emergence.
During the proceedings, Pantami and the PDP defended the process and urged the court to dismiss the suit.
Garry’s legal team, however, maintained that the party had failed to conduct the primary in accordance with its own guidelines and relevant electoral provisions.
In its Thursday judgment, the court upheld the challenge to the process and ordered the PDP to return to the field for a fresh governorship primary.
The ruling effectively reopens the PDP’s contest for the Gombe governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 election.
The PDP has said it will comply with the judgment and begin the necessary steps for another primary. The party said details of the new exercise would be communicated after the relevant arrangements had been concluded.
The development leaves the PDP with the task of conducting a new process to determine who will represent the party in the Gombe governorship election.
Pantami’s camp has indicated that the former minister intends to remain in the contest, although reports have emerged over differing interpretations of the judgment concerning his eligibility to participate in another primary.
