Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the emergence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, as the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election, ordering the party to conduct a fresh primary within thirty days in a judgment that upends the opposition party’s preparations in the state and hands a significant legal victory to a disgruntled aspirant.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed delivered the judgment on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in a pre-election suit filed by Usman Aliyu Garry, a PDP governorship aspirant who challenged the process that produced Pantami as the party’s candidate. Garry argued that the PDP failed to conduct a valid governorship primary before announcing Pantami as its candidate on June 26, 2026, and that the party’s decision to adopt him without a competitive contest contravened its own guidelines and the applicable electoral framework. The court agreed, holding that the process through which Pantami emerged did not comply with the party’s constitution, its electoral guidelines or the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
Pantami’s emergence was unusual from the outset. He had initially sought the APC governorship ticket but left the ruling party after it settled on Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as its consensus candidate. He joined the PDP and, on May 26, 2026, was selected through a voice affirmation exercise at a primary in Gombe, a process that did not involve voting or a competitive contest among aspirants. He was formally presented with a PDP Certificate of Return in Abuja on June 24, 2026, confirming him at the time as the party’s recognised candidate. Other aspirants who had been screened and cleared to participate, including Abdulladir Hamma Sale, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Monica Kaltho, were effectively excluded from the contest. Garry’s suit, along with separate legal challenges filed by Mailantarki and others, argued that the voice affirmation process was a nullity.
In its judgment, the court ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in accordance with its guidelines and applicable electoral laws. It also directed Pantami to stop parading himself as the party’s governorship candidate in Gombe State. The ruling effectively returns the PDP’s governorship ticket to the market, opening the contest to all eligible aspirants less than four months before the general elections, with the presidential and National Assembly polls scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6, 2027.
The PDP responded with a statement from its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, who said the party had noted the judgment and would comply with the court’s directives. “The PDP, as a responsible and law-abiding political party, is a strong respecter of the rule of law and the authority of the judiciary,” Jungudo said. He said the party would carefully study the judgment and take the necessary steps to implement the court’s order, insisting that the fresh exercise would be conducted in line with its constitution, electoral guidelines and applicable laws. “The Party remains firmly committed to the principles of internal democracy, due process, fairness and strict adherence to its Constitution, Electoral Guidelines and the applicable laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said. The party said preparations for the fresh primary would commence immediately, though it did not announce a date, adding that the timetable and other details would be communicated to aspirants, stakeholders and the public once arrangements were concluded. Jungudo urged PDP members and supporters in Gombe State to remain calm, law-abiding and united.
Pantami’s legal team and the counsels to the three contestants both expressed satisfaction with the outcome, according to reports from the court. The former minister, who served as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy from 2019 to 2023 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, had defended the validity of the process that produced him, arguing through his lawyers that the voice affirmation was a legitimate method of selecting a consensus candidate. The court rejected that argument, finding that the party’s failure to conduct a proper primary was a fundamental breach that could not be cured by the subsequent issuance of a certificate of return.
The judgment is the latest in a series of legal battles over party primaries across the country as the 2027 elections approach. The ruling is expected to have significant implications for the political landscape in Gombe State, where the PDP is seeking to reclaim the governorship from the APC. Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, who is serving his second term, will leave office in 2027, and the APC has settled on Gwamna as its candidate. The PDP’s inability to field a candidate with a settled ticket has given the ruling party an early advantage in the state, and the fresh primary will test the opposition party’s capacity to manage its internal divisions and present a united front. The outcome of the primary will also determine whether Pantami remains in the PDP or seeks another platform, and whether the aspirants who challenged his emergence can translate their legal victory into electoral success.
For the PDP, the ruling is both a legal setback and an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to internal democracy. The party’s decision to comply with the court order rather than challenge it further signals an acceptance of the judiciary’s authority, but it also exposes the fragility of a selection process that relied on consensus rather than competition. The fresh primary, whenever it is held, will be closely watched as a test of the party’s ability to conduct a credible contest under tight timelines. For Garry and the other aspirants who challenged Pantami’s candidacy, the judgment vindicates their insistence that the rules must be followed, regardless of the political stature of the candidate the party preferred. As the PDP prepares to return to the drawing board in Gombe, the coming weeks will determine whether the fresh primary produces a candidate capable of mounting a credible challenge to the APC, or whether the legal battle deepens the divisions that have plagued the party in the state.
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