Pantami re-emerges as PDP governorship candidate in Gombe

Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has re-emerged as the Nyesom Wike-backed Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) flagbearer for the 2027 Gombe State governorship election after winning the party’s rerun primary.

Mr Pantami secured victory over two other aspirants, Usman Garry and Hamisu Mailantarki, in the exercise conducted across the state’s 11 local government areas on Tuesday.

Announcing the results at the Gombe State PDP Secretariat, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Temnung Shekarau, stated that 2,555 voters were registered for the primary.

Mr Pantami polled 2,054 votes, about 80 per cent of the total votes cast, while Mr Mailantarki received 389 votes and Mr Garry gathered 112 votes.

The rerun followed a 24 September judgement by Justice Amina Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Gombe, which nullified the initial primary that produced Mr Pantami.

The court ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh exercise in compliance with its constitution following legal challenges brought forward by Mr Garry.

Mr Pantami had previously been declared the PDP candidate on 26 May via voice affirmation. He defected to the PDP from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) after losing out on the APC governorship ticket to consensus candidate Jamilu Gwamna.

Mr Pantami was originally declared the Nyesom Wike-backed PDP standard-bearer during the 26 May primary through voice affirmation.

However, co-aspirants challenged this procedure in court, arguing that a voice vote bypassed the democratic voting procedures mandated by the Electoral Act and the PDP constitution.

READ ALSO: Court nullifies Pantami’s PDP ticket, orders fresh primary in Gombe

The Federal High Court in Gombe ruled on 24 September that the initial selection was invalid and instructed the party to hold a formal ballot-based primary rerun within 30 days.

The 29 September rerun provided Mr Pantami with a legally binding primary victory, affirming his position on the official PDP ballot for the upcoming 2027 election.