2027: Pantami’s Lawyers Give INEC Until Wednesday to Publish His Name
Lawyers representing former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) until Wednesday to publish his name as the party’s candidate for the 2027 Gombe State governorship election.
The legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ahmed Raji, made the demand in a letter dated October 12, 2026, addressed to INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan.
The lawyers described the omission of Pantami’s name from the final list of governorship candidates published on October 10 as unlawful and unexplained, insisting that he emerged as the PDP candidate after a fresh primary conducted in compliance with a court order.
They asked the commission to publish his name alongside those of other candidates and confirm in writing the steps taken to resolve the matter.
According to the legal team, Pantami won the PDP’s initial governorship primary on May 26, 2026, after which the party submitted his particulars to INEC.
However, the process was challenged in two suits before the Federal High Court in Gombe by party aspirants Usman Aliyu Garry and Khamisu Ahmed.
In judgments delivered on September 24, the court nullified the initial primary and directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary within 30 days, allowing eligible aspirants to participate.
The lawyers said the court’s decision did not establish that Pantami was ineligible for party membership or nomination. They maintained that the court’s orders concerned the conduct of the earlier primary and required the party to conduct another exercise in accordance with the law and its internal guidelines. �
Following the judgments, the PDP conducted a fresh governorship primary on September 29, in which Pantami emerged as the winner.
The lawyers said INEC officials attended and monitored the exercise and that the party subsequently resubmitted Pantami’s name to the commission.
They argued that the electoral body should not exclude a nominated candidate without a lawful basis, citing previous decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in support of their position.
The legal team further maintained that INEC’s role in party primaries is to monitor the process and report its findings, rather than independently disqualify a candidate.
The commission has not publicly explained the specific reason for Pantami’s omission in the final list, according to reports.
INEC published its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship elections on October 10. The list contained 16 candidates for Gombe State but did not include Pantami or his running mate.
The PDP was also absent from the list for Ogun State, where its governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, was omitted. The circumstances surrounding Adebutu’s omission differ from the dispute over Pantami’s nomination.
The development has prompted the PDP to engage INEC over the missing names. In a statement reported by The Punch on October 11, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said the party was discussing the matter with the commission and urged affected candidates, members and supporters to remain calm while the engagement continued.
Pantami’s legal team has requested that INEC publish his name by Wednesday, October 14, warning that the dispute may lead to further legal action if the commission fails to comply.
As of October 12, the latest reports consulted had not established whether INEC would meet the deadline or issue a formal response to the lawyers’ demand.
