The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe State has nullified the emergence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, as the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate for the 2027 election and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed delivered the judgment on Thursday in a series of legal challenges brought by PDP governorship aspirants over the process that produced Pantami as the party’s candidate.
The court’s decision effectively sets aside the earlier process through which Pantami emerged as the PDP’s candidate and requires the party to return to the primary election process in accordance with its guidelines and applicable electoral provisions.
Reports on the judgment said the court ordered the fresh primary to be conducted within 30 days. The court also directed Pantami to stop presenting himself as the PDP governorship candidate in Gombe State.
The legal dispute followed Pantami’s emergence as the PDP candidate after the former minister left the All Progressives Congress and joined the opposition party.
Pantami had initially sought the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State but later withdrew from the contest after the party moved towards the emergence of Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as its consensus candidate. He subsequently joined the PDP and became involved in the party’s governorship nomination process.
The PDP eventually announced Pantami as its governorship candidate following a primary conducted on May 26, 2026. His emergence, however, was challenged by other aspirants who questioned the procedure adopted by the party.
One of the challenges was filed by Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, who questioned the validity of Pantami’s participation in the primary and sought the nullification of the process. The case was heard by Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed, who reserved judgment in July after lawyers representing the parties adopted their final written addresses.
Another legal challenge was brought by Usman Aliyu Garry, who also contested the process through which Pantami emerged. Reports of Thursday’s judgment said Garry argued that the PDP failed to conduct its nomination process in accordance with the party’s guidelines and relevant electoral requirements.
The latest ruling therefore reopens the PDP governorship contest in Gombe and places the responsibility for selecting its candidate back on the party.
The development is the latest in a series of disputes surrounding the PDP’s preparations for the 2027 governorship election in the state. Several aspirants had expressed interest in the party’s ticket before Pantami emerged, including Mailantarki, Garry and Abdulkadir Hamma Sale.
The court’s decision does not, however, amount to a finding that Pantami is not a member of the PDP. A report on the judgment said the court affirmed Pantami’s membership of the party while ordering the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary because of defects in the nomination process.
Counsel to Pantami, Mohammed Ibrahim Attahir, said his client was satisfied with the judgment despite the fresh primary order. He argued that several of the claims made against Pantami had been rejected by the court.
“We are happier than our adversaries on the other side of the dispute because the initial relief they sought were not granted,” Attahir said, according to reports of the proceedings.
He said the court had rejected arguments that Pantami remained a member of the APC, was not a PDP member or was not eligible to participate as a PDP aspirant.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Adrian Amadi, also described the fresh primary as a process that could be handled by the party.
“It is not something that is extraordinary, it’s a primary that is going to take place,” Amadi said, according to the report.
The PDP is now expected to organise another governorship primary in line with the court’s directive and the party’s rules. Reports said the fresh exercise will reopen the nomination contest and require the party to formally comply with the relevant procedures.
Pantami’s political trajectory has made the legal battle particularly significant to the PDP’s 2027 preparations. The former minister had previously contested for the APC governorship ticket before moving to the PDP after the APC’s nomination process produced another candidate.
His subsequent emergence as the PDP candidate initially ended the party’s nomination contest, but the court ruling has now returned the process to another primary election.
The judgment could also require the PDP to coordinate the fresh nomination process carefully as the party seeks to avoid another legal challenge before the 2027 election.
For the aspirants who challenged Pantami’s emergence, the fresh primary provides an opportunity to participate in another nomination exercise, while Pantami will also have to go through the process again if he seeks the party’s ticket.
The ruling comes as political parties in Gombe continue preparations for the 2027 governorship election, with internal party processes, legal disputes and candidate selection expected to remain important aspects of the contest.
West Trybe reports that the Federal High Court’s order has reopened the PDP’s governorship nomination process in Gombe, requiring the party to conduct a fresh primary and resolve the procedural issues that led to the legal challenge ahead of the 2027 election.
