By Najeeb Sani
The governorship ambition of Prof. Isa Ali Pantami on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State in the 2027 election has suffered a setback as a Federal High Court sitting in Gombe nullified his emergence as candidate.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed, in her judgment on Thursday, voided the primary that produced Pantami and directed the PDP to organise a fresh, inclusive primary in line with the party constitution and the Electoral Act.
The suit was instituted by a governorship aspirant, Usman Aliyu Garry, who challenged the process that led to the emergence of Pantami as the party’s sole candidate on June 26, 2026.
Garry told the court that no valid primary election was conducted to elect the flagbearer.
Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, had recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP after the APC adopted Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus candidate for the 2027 election.
He was subsequently affirmed as PDP candidate.
The court held that the affirmation process violated due process and ordered a rerun.
Other aspirants who had earlier protested the manner in which Pantami was handed the ticket include; Hamisu Mailantarki and Hamma Saleh, who also faulted the party’s decision to adopt him without a competitive contest.
The court ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh primary within the timeframe allowed by law.
