Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State for the 2027 general election.
Pantami secured the party’s ticket in a rescheduled governorship primary conducted across the 114 wards in the state’s 11 local government areas on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
The fresh primary followed a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the earlier exercise through which Pantami had emerged as the party’s candidate in May.
The court had ordered the PDP to conduct another governorship primary within 30 days after ruling that the earlier process did not comply with the party’s regulations and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
Three aspirants participated in the rerun: Pantami, former member of the House of Representatives Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, and former Gombe State House of Assembly member Usman Aliyu Garry.
According to the chairman of the PDP Governorship Primary Election Committee, Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau, a total of 2,555 accredited party members took part in the exercise.
Pantami polled 2,054 votes to win the contest. Mailantarki followed with 389 votes, while Garry secured 112 votes.
The result means Pantami has now secured the PDP governorship ticket through a fresh voting process after his initial emergence by affirmation was challenged in court.
His first emergence on May 26 had generated controversy among some party members and rival aspirants, who challenged the procedure and his eligibility to contest the primary.
While the Federal High Court ordered a fresh primary, it did not grant the request seeking Pantami’s outright disqualification from the PDP. The judgment also became the subject of further legal arguments, with lawyers representing some of the plaintiffs indicating plans to challenge aspects of the ruling.
Speaking after the latest result, Pantami thanked PDP members for participating in what he described as a peaceful exercise.
He also appealed to Mailantarki and Garry to join him in working toward the success of the party in the 2027 elections.
The latest development places Pantami as the PDP’s nominee in the emerging political contest for the Gombe State governorship ahead of the 2027 general election.
The outcome is also expected to bring renewed attention to the legal and political issues surrounding the party’s earlier primary and the court proceedings that led to the rerun.
