The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the emergence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, as the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Gombe State.
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Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, September 24, 2026, ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in compliance with its guidelines and applicable electoral laws.
The judgment followed a pre-election suit filed by a PDP governorship aspirant, Usman Aliyu Garry, who challenged the process through which Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate.
Garry contended that the PDP failed to conduct a valid governorship primary as required by the party’s rules and the relevant electoral laws.
The plaintiff argued that Pantami was declared the party’s candidate following a voice-affirmation exercise rather than a properly conducted governorship primary involving eligible aspirants.
The court agreed that the process which produced Pantami did not comply with the applicable legal and party requirements and consequently set aside his nomination.
Justice Mohammed directed the PDP to conduct a fresh primary that complies with its internal guidelines and the relevant provisions of the electoral law.
Pantami had emerged as the PDP candidate following the party’s governorship exercise held on May 26, 2026.
He had earlier withdrawn from the All Progressives Congress governorship race after the APC adopted Jamilu Ishiyaku Gwamna as its consensus candidate.
Pantami subsequently defected to the PDP and was presented as its sole governorship candidate through an affirmation exercise.
During the proceedings, Pantami’s counsel maintained that the former minister resigned from the APC on May 19, 2026, before participating in the PDP nomination process.
The PDP also opposed the suit and asked the court to dismiss it, but Garry’s counsel urged the court to reject the preliminary objections and grant the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.
The court had reserved judgment in July after counsel to the parties adopted their final written addresses.
The dispute was one of several pre-election suits filed by aggrieved PDP aspirants challenging Pantami’s emergence.
In a separate suit, another aspirant, Khamisu Mailantarki, alleged that Pantami was not a registered member of the PDP when the May 26 primary was conducted and consequently asked the court to nullify the exercise.
Thursday’s judgment means Pantami can no longer rely on the nullified exercise as the basis of his candidacy, subject to any appeal or further order by a higher court.
Neither Pantami nor the PDP had announced their next legal step at the time of filing this report.
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