The Peoples Democratic Party in Gombe State is heading into another crucial governorship primary as former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Khamisu Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry return to the race for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The fresh contest follows a Federal High Court judgment which nullified the earlier PDP governorship primary that produced Pantami as the party’s candidate.
The development has reopened the party’s internal contest after months of political and legal developments surrounding Pantami’s emergence.
Pantami, who previously served as Minister of Communications and Digital Economy under the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, joined the PDP after leaving the All Progressives Congress.
His movement into the opposition party significantly changed the political landscape surrounding the PDP’s governorship race in Gombe. He subsequently emerged from the party’s governorship primary held in May, becoming the PDP’s candidate for the 2027 election.
However, the process did not end the contest.
Other aspirants challenged the procedure through which Pantami emerged, leading to legal battles over the validity of the primary. Among those who questioned the process were Mailantarki and Garry.
The dispute eventually reached the Federal High Court in Gombe, where the court ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary.
The judgment effectively cancelled the earlier process and returned the party’s governorship contest to the starting point.
The fresh primary now gives the three aspirants another opportunity to seek the PDP ticket through a new exercise.
For Pantami, the contest represents another attempt to secure the party’s nomination after his earlier emergence was set aside by the court. His political profile extends beyond Gombe, having served in the federal cabinet and previously headed the National Information Technology Development Agency.
His supporters have continued to point to his experience in government and his record in the communications and digital economy sector as part of the reasons for backing his political ambition.
Mailantarki, meanwhile, remains one of the politicians seeking the PDP ticket after previously challenging the May primary. His opposition to the earlier process formed part of the legal and political disagreement that eventually led to the call for a fresh primary.
Garry is also back in contention after challenging Pantami’s earlier emergence in court. The latest development means that the aspirants must once again seek the support of delegates as the party attempts to produce a candidate through a process that complies with the court’s directives.
The court’s intervention has also placed greater attention on the procedure the PDP adopts for the new primary. The party will be expected to follow its constitution, electoral guidelines and the relevant provisions of Nigeria’s electoral laws while conducting the exercise.
Following the judgment, the PDP indicated that it would comply with the court’s directive and proceed with the necessary steps for another primary.
The party’s renewed exercise comes at a time when political activities ahead of the 2027 Gombe governorship election are gradually becoming more intense.
The APC has already selected Jamilu Gwamna as its governorship candidate, giving the ruling party a settled position while the PDP works through its renewed internal contest.
Gwamna’s emergence followed the APC’s own governorship process, in which Pantami had initially participated before eventually leaving the party.
That political movement has added another layer to the developing 2027 contest, with Pantami now seeking the PDP ticket against some of the politicians who had already been involved in the party’s governorship race.
For the PDP, however, the immediate challenge is not the general election but the conduct of a credible primary capable of producing a candidate without creating another round of legal disputes.
The previous primary demonstrated how quickly an internal nomination exercise can move from a political contest into the courts. The latest exercise therefore carries significance beyond simply determining who wins the party’s ticket.
Whoever emerges from the fresh primary will have to consolidate support within the PDP and prepare for the wider governorship contest in 2027.
For Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry, the fresh exercise provides another opportunity to make their case to the party’s delegates.
For the PDP leadership, it represents an opportunity to resolve the dispute surrounding its governorship ticket and move the party’s attention towards the general election.
The battle for the PDP ticket has therefore been reopened, with the three aspirants once again at the centre of the party’s governorship race in Gombe State.
The outcome of the fresh primary will determine who carries the PDP flag into the 2027 governorship election and begins the next phase of what has already become a closely watched political contest in the state.
