INEC Excludes Pantami From Final List of Gombe Governorship Candidates
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, from the final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027, governorship election in Gombe State.
Pantami’s name, which appeared on the provisional list released by the commission on August 29, was missing from the final list containing 16 candidates cleared to contest the election.
The list features Bala Bello Tinka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Babayo Ardo Kumo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Other candidates include Zubairu Mu’azu Halilu of the Labour Party, Lamela L. Silas of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ibrahim Jalo Abubakar of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Adamu Mohammed Ma’aji of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), among others.
Pantami’s exclusion comes amid a series of legal and political challenges surrounding his bid to contest the governorship election.
He defected from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on May 19 and subsequently emerged as the party’s governorship candidate. However, his emergence was challenged in court by Ahmed Mailantarki Mailantarki, another aspirant who contested the PDP ticket.
A Federal High Court sitting in Gombe later nullified the primary election and ordered the party to conduct a fresh exercise, which Pantami reportedly won again.
His candidacy subsequently faced uncertainty following the Supreme Court’s September 24 judgement restoring Sections 77(5), (6), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The provisions concern party membership records and compliance with statutory requirements for nominating candidates for elections.
The judgement has raised questions about the eligibility of candidates whose names were not included in the membership registers submitted by their parties to INEC within the stipulated period.
Earlier, INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna had indicated that some political parties might be unable to field candidates in the 2027 elections due to the implications of the Supreme Court ruling.
Haruna made the remark while appearing on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, had earlier promised that the commission would release the final list of candidates, which has now revealed Pantami’s absence from the Gombe governorship race.
