Former Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Pantami has again emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Gombe State after winning a court-ordered repeat primary, restoring his position at the centre of the state’s early political contest ahead of the 2027 election.
Pantami received 817 votes in the exercise held on Tuesday, 29 September, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, who polled 153, and Aliyu Usman Garry, who received 50. The figures amount to 1,020 votes cast. The PDP said the fresh process was conducted across Gombe’s 11 local government areas, with eligible delegates voting in their ward areas.
The result is significant because it follows the collapse of Pantami’s first nomination only days earlier. On 24 September, the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the May 26 process through which he had been declared the party’s candidate, and directed the PDP to hold a new primary within 30 days.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed held that the earlier exercise did not comply with the party’s procedures and applicable electoral rules. The litigation was brought by aspirants including Mailantarki and Garry, who challenged the process that produced Pantami. Their challenge was to the procedure, not merely to the winning candidate, meaning the rerun became the practical test of whether the party could produce a defensible nominee.
The new vote gives Pantami a markedly clearer mandate within the exercise than the affirmation process it replaced. His 817 votes represented just over four-fifths of ballots cast, while Mailantarki was the runner-up and Garry finished third. However, the outcome does not automatically end the political and legal consequences of the earlier dispute. The party’s compliance with its constitution, its guidelines and election law remains important should any participant decide to use internal party channels or the courts again.
PDP officials had announced the repeat primary last week, urging delegates and supporters to conduct themselves peacefully. The party cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry for the contest. There was no immediate verified public indication on Tuesday night that either defeated aspirant had accepted or rejected the result, or that a new court action had been filed.
For Pantami, the rerun completes a turbulent path through Gombe’s pre-election politics. He entered 2026 seeking the governorship ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress, but withdrew from its selection process in May, alleging electoral irregularities. He then joined the PDP and was initially declared its candidate through a voice-affirmation exercise. The Federal High Court later declined to remove him as a PDP member, but set aside the first nomination because of the way the primary was conducted.
His change of party gives the PDP a candidate with national visibility in a state governed by the APC. Pantami was director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency before serving as minister of communications and digital economy under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2023. His ministerial record and profile in the technology sector are likely to form part of his political appeal as he seeks a statewide mandate.
In his earlier acceptance remarks in May, Pantami promised to address poverty and said he wanted to restore what he described as the PDP’s development legacy in Gombe. He pointed to projects delivered during the party’s 2003–2019 period in office. The renewed nomination places those claims under sharper scrutiny: a candidate with federal executive experience will be expected to translate broad promises into specific plans for jobs, education, health services, roads, water, digital access and environmental resilience.
The fresh primary also lays bare a wider reality for the PDP: unity will be essential if it is to turn a nomination victory into a competitive state campaign. Mailantarki and Garry were not outsiders challenging the process from afar; both were contestants cleared for the rerun. How Pantami and the state party engage their supporters, and whether the defeated camps feel fairly represented, may shape the party’s ability to consolidate its base before the general election.
Gombe’s governing APC is led by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, whose administration remains in office. The general election is scheduled for 6 February 2027, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable. The PDP’s immediate task is to ensure that its nomination documentation is properly completed and recognised by the electoral authorities, while the APC must settle on and present its own candidate for the contest.
It is also too early to regard the primary as a forecast of the governorship election itself. A party primary measures the preference of participating delegates, not the wider electorate. The eventual ballot will involve all registered voters who turn out, and its balance will be affected by campaign organisation, turnout, alliances, local candidates and the performance records offered by both major parties. The ruling APC’s eventual nominee, campaign programme and response to Pantami’s candidacy have yet to be fully defined publicly.
Voters will ultimately judge the candidates on more than their party labels or the drama of a primary rerun. Gombe faces the practical demands common to many Nigerian states: creating opportunities for young people, improving public services, sustaining infrastructure, responding to climate and environmental pressures, and ensuring that the benefits of growth extend beyond the state capital. Campaign pledges will carry greater weight if they specify costs, delivery dates and mechanisms for accountability.
Pantami’s victory therefore closes one chapter but begins a more demanding one. The PDP now has a candidate selected through a vote ordered after judicial intervention, and Pantami has demonstrated a decisive advantage among participants in that process. Yet he must unify a party emerging from a contested nomination, persuade undecided voters and present a credible alternative to the APC government. With just over four months until polling day, the primary has made Gombe one of the states to watch in Nigeria’s 2027 political cycle.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments