By Taibat Ummi Yakubu
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, has secured the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in Gombe State for the 2027 election just days after a court nullified his earlier emergence.
Pantami won the fresh primary conducted across the 114 wards in the state’s 11 Local Government Areas on Tuesday, September 29, following a Federal High Court order directing the PDP to repeat the earlier exercise.
The result effectively gives Pantami another shot at the party’s ticket after his first emergence was thrown into uncertainty by the court ruling.
Announcing the outcome, Chairman of the PDP Governorship Primary Election Committee, Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau, said 2,555 accredited party members participated in the exercise.
Pantami recorded 2,054 votes, defeating his two challengers by a wide margin.
Former House of Representatives member Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki came second with 389 votes, while Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry polled 112 votes.
Declaring the result, Shekarau said: “I, Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau, hereby declare Isa Ali Pantami as the winner of this primary election and return him as the duly elected governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2027 general elections.”
The committee chairman commended the PDP leadership at both the national and state levels for what he described as their support toward the successful conduct of the exercise.
He also praised members of the electoral committee and security agencies for their roles in ensuring that the primary was conducted peacefully and orderly.
Shekarau specifically acknowledged former Gombe State governor, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, for providing leadership and support during the exercise, while also thanking party members and residents for maintaining peace.
From Courtroom Setback To another Victory
Pantami’s latest victory comes only five days after the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the process that originally produced him as the PDP’s governorship candidate.
The court, in a judgment delivered on September 24, ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary in compliance with its constitution, guidelines and relevant electoral provisions.
Pantami had initially emerged from the May primary through a voice affirmation. His emergence was challenged by rival aspirants, including Garry and Mailantarki, who questioned the validity of the process.
The court did not remove Pantami from the PDP or invalidate his membership, but ordered the party to conduct a fresh contest. The PDP subsequently cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to participate in the repeat primary.
The fresh contest therefore placed all three aspirants back in the race, with party members voting across the state’s wards.
Pantami Calls For Unity
In his acceptance speech after being declared winner, Pantami thanked PDP members for what he described as their peaceful participation in the exercise.
He also extended an invitation to his two opponents, Mailantarki and Garry, urging them to put the contest behind them and work together for the success of PDP candidates in the 2027 general elections.
Pantami said that, if elected governor, he would provide what he described as purposeful leadership and “rescue the state from years of mis-governance” under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
The fresh result now places Pantami back at the centre of the PDP’s 2027 governorship campaign in Gombe, after a week in which his political future within the party had been thrown into legal uncertainty.
For the second time, the former minister has emerged as the party’s choice but this time after a court-ordered contest involving the rival aspirants who had challenged his first emergence.
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