Pantami’s Lawyers Give INEC Wednesday Deadline to Publish Name on Gombe Governorship List
The legal team of Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State, has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) until Wednesday, October 14, to include his name in the final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship election.
The lawyers made the demand in a letter dated October 12 and addressed to INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, challenging the commission’s omission of Pantami and his running mate from the list of candidates published on Saturday.
The letter was signed by Ahmed Raji, A.T. Kehinde, Abdul Mohammed, Wale Balogun and Tunde Falola.
The legal team argued that INEC lacked the authority to remove a duly nominated candidate from the list without a judicial order, maintaining that the commission’s responsibility during party primaries is to observe, monitor and report on the process rather than independently disqualify candidates.
INEC recently published the names of 16 governorship candidates for Gombe State but excluded Pantami and his running mate. The commission also omitted the name of Ladi Adebutu, the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, without stating the reasons for the omissions.
Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, was declared the winner of a fresh PDP governorship primary conducted across the 11 local government areas of Gombe State on September 29.
Lawyers recount court-ordered primary
In the letter, Pantami’s lawyers stated that their client was a duly registered member of the PDP and that his name appeared in the party’s membership register submitted to INEC.
They explained that following his emergence from the initial governorship primary held on May 26, the PDP submitted his personal particulars to the commission on August 8, 2026, in line with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
According to the lawyers, INEC subsequently published Pantami’s name on August 29, and no objection was raised by the commission regarding his nomination at the time.
However, the May 26 primary was challenged in two cases before the Federal High Court in Gombe, marked FHC/GM/CS/10/2026 and FHC/GM/CS/9/2026.
The court, in a judgment delivered on September 24, nullified the primary and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh exercise.
The lawyers said the party notified INEC of the court-directed primary and conducted a new election on September 29, at the conclusion of which Pantami emerged as the winner.
His name was subsequently resubmitted to INEC as the party’s nominated candidate for the Gombe governorship election.
Demand for immediate action
Citing legal precedents, the legal team maintained that the commission could not lawfully exclude Pantami from the candidates’ list without a court order authorising such action.
They therefore demanded that INEC publish and circulate Pantami’s name as the PDP governorship candidate for Gombe State on or before Wednesday, October 14, alongside the names of other candidates already listed.
The lawyers also urged the commission to take immediate corrective action and provide written confirmation of the steps taken to address the matter.
They expressed confidence that INEC would act impartially and uphold the relevant legal provisions governing the nomination and publication of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
