By Hadiza Mohammed, Northern Operation
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a three-day ultimatum to include his name in the final list of candidates for the 2027 Gombe State governorship election, threatening to challenge the commission’s decision to omit him.
Pantami, through his solicitors, Ahmed Raji & Co., accused INEC of unlawfully excluding his name from the final list of governorship candidates published on October 10, 2026, despite his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer in a fresh primary election conducted in compliance with a court order.
In a letter dated October 12 and addressed to the INEC Chairman, the law firm demanded that the commission publish and circulate Pantami’s name as the PDP governorship candidate on or before Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
The letter, signed by the firm’s lead counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, maintained that Pantami won the fresh primary conducted by the PDP on September 29, following a court directive ordering the party to organise another exercise after nullifying its earlier primary.
According to the lawyers, Pantami is a registered PDP member in Pantami Ward, Gombe State. They said he purchased the party’s Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, underwent the required screening and was cleared to contest the governorship election.
The legal team explained that Pantami had initially won the party’s governorship primary held on May 26, 2026, after which the PDP submitted his particulars, including Form EC9, to INEC on August 8.
INEC subsequently published his name on August 29, in line with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the lawyers stated.
However, the initial primary was challenged in two suits filed at the Federal High Court in Gombe, with the plaintiffs questioning Pantami’s membership of the PDP.
Raji said the court, in judgments delivered on September 24, resolved the membership dispute in Pantami’s favour.
The lawyers cited the court’s position that the absence of Pantami’s name from an exhibit tendered in one of the cases did not conclusively establish that he was not a member of the party.
They further noted that the court recognised that membership of a political party ordinarily falls within the party’s domestic affairs.
Although the court nullified the May 26 primary over irregularities relating to its conduct, it directed the PDP to conduct a fresh exercise within 30 days, according to the letter.
The order also required the party to allow all aspirants cleared on May 14, 2026, to participate in the fresh primary.
Pantami’s lawyers maintained that the PDP complied with the court’s directive by notifying INEC and conducting a new primary on September 29 under the commission’s monitoring.
They said Pantami again emerged as the winner of the exercise, making INEC’s subsequent decision to exclude him from the final list of governorship candidates difficult to justify.
The law firm faulted the commission for omitting its client’s name from the list published on October 10 without providing any explanation, despite the fresh primary having been conducted in compliance with the court’s order.
In the letter, the lawyers said Pantami had instructed them to demand the immediate correction of the alleged omission before the deadline.
“We have our Client’s firm and unequivocal instructions to demand that the Commission, on or before Wednesday, October 14, publish and circulate the name of Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim as the candidate of the PDP for the office of Governor of Gombe State,” the letter stated.
The firm urged INEC to take immediate steps to resolve the complaint and provide written confirmation of the action taken.
The ultimatum places the commission under pressure to address the dispute over the PDP’s Gombe governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 election.
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