A Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the emergence of Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Gombe State, ordering the party to conduct a fresh primary election.
Presided over by Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed, the court delivered the judgment following a suit filed by PDP governorship aspirant Usman Aliyu Garry.
Garry challenged Pantami’s candidacy, arguing that the primary process failed to comply with party rules and relevant electoral requirements.
Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, had previously joined the PDP after exiting the All Progressives Congress (APC) and subsequently emerged as the sole PDP aspirant through voice affirmation on May 26.
His candidacy faced immediate opposition from several other aspirants, including Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, and Monica Kaltho, before Garry formally took the matter to court.
While Pantami and the PDP maintained during the legal proceedings that his emergence strictly adhered to the law and party procedures, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff.
The judgment mandates the PDP to organize a brand-new governorship primary to determine its official flagbearer for the upcoming 2027 Gombe State governorship election.