The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), have issued a three-day ultimatum to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding the immediate inclusion of Pantami’s name on the final list of candidates for the 2027 Gombe State governorship election.
The demand was contained in a pre-action petition dated October 12, 2026, and signed by a team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) led by prominent legal practitioner Ahmed Raji.
The petition followed the Commission’s October 10 release of the final list of governorship candidates, which omitted Pantami’s name without explanation, despite his emergence as the PDP’s flagbearer in a court-ordered rerun primary.
According to the letter addressed to the INEC Chairman, Pantami satisfied all statutory requirements to contest the election. He is a registered PDP member in Pantami Ward, Gombe State, whose membership details were submitted to INEC.
After passing the party’s screening, he won the initial PDP governorship primary on May 26, 2026. Although the exercise was challenged before the Federal High Court in Gombe, the court, on September 24, 2026, affirmed Pantami’s valid PDP membership and eligibility while ordering a fresh primary within 30 days to address procedural issues surrounding the exercise.
In compliance with the court’s directives, the PDP formally notified INEC and conducted a fresh primary election on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
INEC officials monitored the exercise, in which Pantami once again emerged as the winner, after which his details were resubmitted to the Commission.
In the petition, jointly signed by Ahmed Raji, SAN; A.T. Kehinde, SAN; Abdul Mohammed, SAN; Wale Balogun, SAN; and Chief Tunde Falola, Esq., the legal team argued that INEC lacked the legal authority to arbitrarily exclude a nominated candidate.
READ ALSO: NYSC DG Urges Corps Members to Embrace Orientation, Entrepreneurship Training
Citing Supreme Court precedents, including Dingyadi v. INEC and AC v. INEC, the solicitors maintained that the removal of a candidate’s name from an election is strictly a judicial function. They argued that the Commission’s role in party primaries is to observe, monitor and report on the process rather than disqualify candidates.
The legal team gave INEC until Wednesday, October 14, 2026, to publish and circulate Pantami’s name with the same prominence accorded to other candidates on the final list.
The petition expressed confidence that the electoral umpire would act impartially, adhere to judicial precedents and take immediate corrective action to avert further legal proceedings.
