The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the emergence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 elections, ordering the party to conduct a fresh primary.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed upheld a suit filed by PDP governorship aspirant Usman Aliyu Garry, who challenged the legitimacy of the process that produced Pantami as the party’s flagbearer. The court ruled that the PDP failed to conduct a valid governorship primary in strict compliance with its own internal guidelines and applicable national electoral laws.
The legal battle stems from Pantami’s high-profile political defection earlier this year. After the All Progressives Congress (APC) settled on Jamilu Gwamna as its gubernatorial candidate, Pantami crossed the aisle to the PDP, officially resigning from the APC on May 19, 2026. He subsequently emerged as the PDP’s candidate during the party’s governorship primary on May 26.
Garry’s legal team argued that Pantami’s emergence was fundamentally flawed and violated the party’s constitutional processes. In defense, Pantami’s counsel maintained that his resignation from the APC prior to the primary rendered him fully eligible to participate, while the PDP urged the court to strike out the case entirely.
However, Justice Mohammed dismissed these objections, granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiff. The court explicitly directed the PDP to conduct a new governorship primary in Gombe State, ensuring the process aligns with both the party’s rules and the overarching framework of the Electoral Act.
The judgment throws the PDP’s 2027 gubernatorial strategy in Gombe State into immediate disarray, forcing the party to return to the drawing board just as the election cycle begins to gain momentum. As the political landscape shifts, the ruling serves as a stark reminder to all political formations that internal democracy is not merely a procedural formality, but a legally enforceable mandate that will be rigorously defended in the courts.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
