Court nullifies Pantami’s PDP ticket, orders fresh primary in Gombe

The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the nomination of Isa Pantami as the governorship candidate of the Nyesom Wike-backed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2027 election and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary.

The Daily Trust newspaper reports that Amina Mohammed issued the ruling on Thursday following a suit filed by an aspirant, Usman Garry, who challenged the process that produced Mr Pantami.

Mr Garry argued that the PDP failed to conduct a valid primary election before declaring Mr Pantami its candidate on 26 June.

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

He subsequently secured the PDP ticket in May via voice affirmation—a process the court deemed improper.

In her judgement, Justice Mohammed set aside Mr Pantami’s nomination, barred him from parading himself as the candidate, and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh, legal governorship primary in accordance with its constitution and relevant electoral laws.

Background

Mr Pantami’s emergence as the PDP’s Gombe governorship flagbearer stirred intense controversy across both the APC and PDP in the state.

Mr Pantami was originally a major contender inside the ruling APC. When the APC leadership bypassed him in favour of Mr Gwamna as a consensus choice, he decried the process and defected to the opposition PDP.

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His prompt transition into the PDP was met with strong pushback from long-standing party members and rival aspirants (such as Mr Garry and Khamisu Mailantarki.

They viewed his fast-tracked adoption via “voice affirmation” as an undemocratic “political jamboree” designed to bypass a real election and disenfranchise aspirants who had remained loyal to the PDP.

Mr Garry’s legal suit hinged on the argument that voice affirmation without a formal, open delegate vote violated both the PDP’s internal guidelines and the Electoral Act.

The court agreed, ruling that political parties cannot bypass formal voting procedures to hand-pick high-profile defectors.