Gombe governorship: Pantami gives INEC 48-hour deadline to publish his name

Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has threatened to sue the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC over his exclusion from the 2027 Gombe State governorship candidate list.

Pantami’s lawyers have given INEC until Wednesday, October 14, to include his name in the final list. They warned that he would seek legal redress if the commission failed to comply.

His lawyers, led by Ahmed Raji, SAN, made the demand in a letter dated Monday and addressed to INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan.

INEC omitted Pantami’s name from its list of candidates published on October 10. However, his legal team argued that the commission had no justification for excluding him after he emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party PDP candidate in a fresh primary conducted in line with court orders.

The letter was jointly signed by Raji, A.T. Kehinde, Abdul Mohammed, Wale Balogun and Chief Tunde Falola.

The lawyers said Pantami, a registered PDP member in Pantami Ward, Gombe State, won the party’s governorship primary held on May 26, 2026.

They added that the PDP submitted his personal details to INEC on August 8. The commission subsequently published his name on August 29 without raising any objection.

The lawyers explained that two suits challenged the May 26 primary before the Federal High Court in Gombe. The cases were registered as FHC/GM/CS/9/2026 and FHC/GM/CS/10/2026.

Although the court nullified the primary over irregularities in its conduct, the legal team maintained that the judgments supported Pantami’s eligibility and membership of the party.

In Suit No. FHC/GM/CS/9/2026, the court held that the plaintiff had not proved that Pantami could not legally be recognised as a member of the PDP.

Similarly, in Suit No. FHC/GM/CS/10/2026, the court ruled that the absence of Pantami’s name from a particular membership document did not conclusively establish that he was not a party member.

The lawyers also said the court upheld the PDP’s authority to determine its membership. They noted that the party presented a membership card and register bearing Pantami’s name during the proceedings.

In judgments delivered on September 24, the court directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary within 30 days. It ordered the party to comply with the Electoral Act, 2026, its constitution and its guidelines.

According to the lawyers, the court restricted its consequential orders to nominations arising from the May 26 primary.

The letter stated:

“In compliance with the Court Order, the PDP gave the Commission due notice of the court-ordered primary, and conducted the fresh gubernatorial primary election on Tuesday, the 29th day of September, 2026,”

The legal team maintained that the PDP conducted the fresh primary in compliance with the court’s directive. They are now demanding that INEC publish Pantami’s name alongside those of other candidates by October 14.