Court Sacks Governorship Candidate
The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe State has sacked Prof. Isa Ali Pantami as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 election.
Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy under former President Muhammadu Buhari, had emerged as the PDP’s candidate for the Gombe governorship race.
The court also ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary to produce its candidate for the election.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed gave the order on Thursday while ruling on a suit filed by Usman Aliyu Garry, who challenged the process through which Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate.
Garry had questioned Pantami’s emergence after the PDP announced him as its sole candidate on June 26, 2026, arguing that the party failed to conduct the required governorship primary.
Pantami, a former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, joined the PDP after the APC settled for Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus candidate.
He later emerged as the PDP candidate through a voice affirmation during the party’s governorship primary held in May.
However, the court ruled that the process did not meet the requirements for the selection of the party’s governorship candidate.
Justice Mohammed consequently directed the PDP to conduct a fresh primary in accordance with its guidelines and relevant electoral laws.
