Elections 2027: the former minister loses the position of governor

The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has quashed the nomination of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, as the People’s Democratic Party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 elections in Gombe State.

The court also ordered the PDP to conduct fresh governorship primaries in accordance with the party’s constitution and relevant electoral laws.

Justice Amina Mohammed issued the ruling on Thursday following a lawsuit filed by one of the party’s governorship aspirants, Usman Garry, who challenged the process that produced Pantami as the party’s candidate.

Court criticizes PDP primary trial

Garry had claimed that the PDP had failed to conduct a viable primary for the governorship before declaring Pantami as its candidate on June 26.

Pantami, who initially sought the governorship of the ruling All Progressives Congress, defected to the PDP after the APC adopted Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus candidate.

He later secured the PDP ticket through a vocal assertion, a process that was contested in court by rival aspirants.

In his judgment, Justice Mohammed set aside Pantami’s nomination and barred him from standing as the PDP candidate for the 2027 state governorship election.

The judge also ordered the PDP to conduct new and legal governorship primaries, in line with its constitution and applicable election laws.

The emergence of Pantami has generated controversy

The emergence of Pantami as the governorship candidate of the PDP had generated controversy among party members and political players in Gombe State.

The former minister was previously a prominent aspirant within the APC but left the party after its leadership chose Gwamna as the consensus candidate.

His subsequent move to the PDP and his assertion through vocal affirmation reportedly attracted opposition from some long-serving members and other gubernatorial aspirants, including Garry and Khamisu Mailantarki.

Challengers argued that the process did not involve a formal vote by delegates and amounted to circumventing the party’s established procedures for candidate selection.

Garry later approached the court, alleging that the process violated the internal guidelines of the PDP and the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The court’s decision has now nullified Pantami’s nomination and ordered the opposition party to return to the primary process and select its candidate through a new procedure.