Judiciary
Court Nullifies Pantami’s PDP Ticket, Orders Fresh Gombe Primary
The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, presided over by Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammad, has nullified the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship ticket earlier won by former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami.
Justice Mohammed subsequently ordered the party to conduct a fresh governorship primary in the state.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in a suit filed by Usman Aliyu Garry challenging Pantami’s emergence as the PDP candidate for the 2027 Gombe governorship election, Justice Mohammed directed the PDP to commence a fresh process for selecting its governorship candidate in Gombe State.
Garry had argued that the PDP failed to conduct a valid governorship primary before announcing Pantami as its candidate.
The PDP had announced Pantami as its sole candidate on June 26, 2026, after he emerged through voice affirmation at the party’s governorship primary held in May.
Pantami, a former APC member, defected to the PDP after the APC settled on Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus candidate.
In its judgment, the Federal High Court ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in accordance with the party’s guidelines and relevant electoral laws.
The ruling followed arguments by the parties over the validity of Pantami’s emergence and the process through which he secured the PDP ticket.
Garry had approached the court to challenge the process, while Pantami, the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission opposed the challenge.