The Peoples Democratic Party has fixed a date for a fresh governorship primary election in Gombe State after a Federal High Court nullified the earlier exercise that produced former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.
The party has also cleared Pantami, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry to participate in the fresh primary, according to a report by Daily Trust published on Friday.
The development follows Thursday’s judgment by the Federal High Court in Gombe, which ordered the PDP to conduct another governorship primary within 30 days.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed nullified Pantami’s emergence after Garry, a PDP governorship aspirant, challenged the process through which the former minister was selected as the party’s candidate.
Garry had argued that the process did not comply with the PDP’s guidelines and applicable electoral requirements. Pantami and the party had opposed the challenge and maintained that his emergence was valid.
Pantami emerged as the PDP candidate through a voice affirmation at a primary held on May 26, 2026, after leaving the All Progressives Congress. He had earlier withdrawn from the APC governorship contest following disagreements over the process that produced Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as the party’s candidate.
The court’s ruling has now set aside that process and directed the PDP to return to the primary election stage.
The PDP subsequently said it would comply with the judgment. Its National Publicity Secretary, Haruna Mohammed Jungudo, said the party would study the ruling and take the necessary steps to implement the court’s directives.
The party said it remained committed to internal democracy, due process and compliance with its constitution, electoral guidelines and relevant laws. It also appealed to members and stakeholders in Gombe to remain calm while arrangements for the fresh primary were concluded.
The participation of Pantami in the new primary had been the subject of competing interpretations of Thursday’s judgment.
Pantami’s media aide, Mohammed Umar, said the judgment did not invalidate his principal’s PDP membership and maintained that Pantami remained eligible to participate in the fresh contest.
The APC’s Gombe State Publicity Secretary, Mustapha Usman, however, offered a different interpretation, claiming that the court had invalidated Pantami’s PDP membership card because he registered with the party after the statutory deadline. Pantami’s camp rejected that interpretation and said it was awaiting the certified true copy of the judgment.
The fresh primary will therefore provide another opportunity for the cleared aspirants to seek the PDP ticket.
Mailantarki and Garry were among those who had previously challenged aspects of the process that produced Pantami. Earlier in the year, another PDP aspirant, Abdulkadir-Hamma Saleh, also complained that he had been screened and cleared but was not informed about the May primary.
The Federal High Court’s ruling means Pantami can no longer present himself as the PDP’s confirmed governorship candidate from the earlier primary, while the party is required to conduct a new exercise in accordance with its rules and the applicable electoral framework. Channels Television reported that the court specifically ordered Pantami to stop parading himself as the party’s governorship candidate.
The fresh contest is expected to determine who will eventually carry the PDP flag in the Gombe governorship election.
The development adds another layer to the political contest in the state as parties prepare for the 2027 elections. For the PDP, the immediate task is to organise a primary that satisfies the court’s directive and avoids another legal challenge to its candidate-selection process.
