Why INEC is Right to Delist Dr Isa Pantami From The List of Candidates For The 2027 Elections

By Dr Abubakar Alkali

Friday Lines (128)

On 28th September 2026, I posted my article titled ‘Why INEC must remove Dr Isa Pantami’s name from the list of candidates for the 2027 elections’ in which i stated my opinion regarding the ineligibility of Dr Pantami to contest the Gombe Guber election or any election for that matter in the forthcoming general election in 2027. My reasons stemmed from the rulings of the Supreme Court in ZLP v INEC which clearly disqualified Dr Pantami based on the fact that his name is not in the PDP membership register submitted to INEC on 10th May 2026 as required by law.

Dr Isa Pantami

Based on the stated position of the law, the following points are noteworthy;

– INEC will be in breach of the Supreme Court judgement in ZLP V INEC and risks committing a CONTEMPT OF COURT if it re-lists Dr Pantami as a candidate in the 2027 elections.

– Dr Isa Pantami cannot contest in the 2027 elections because his name is not in the PDP membership register submitted to INEC on the 10th of May 2026.

– ⁠Technically Dr Pantami cannot vote or be voted for under the PDP in the 2027 elections since he is not recognised by the INEC as a member of the PDP.

– ⁠The option for Dr Pantami is to accept his fate in good faith (Qadara) as Allah (SWT) has enjoined all Muslims in the glorious Qur’an (Surah Hadid 22:23) Secondly, Dr Pantami can strike a deal with Bala Bello Tinka, the Gombe Guber candidate of the ADC for an alliance and a power sharing arrangement. It is still not enough to stop the APC from winning the Gombe Guber election but it will keep Dr Pantami politically relevant.

BACKGROUND;

On 24/9/26, the federal high court sitting in Gombe presided by Justice Amina Aliyu delivered its verdict on the suits instituted by aggrieved PDP Gombe Guber aspirants, Khamis Mailantarki, Usman Garry and Hammah Saleh in the ruling, justice Amina Aliyu effectively voided Dr Pantami’s purported PDP ticket and delivered a verdict which is in tandem with both the rule of law and common sense.

The learned justice Amina Aliyu in her wisdom, also ordered a fresh primary election to be conducted by the PDP within 30 days. The PDP has the right of appeal though.

In a manner that suggests more of

a Happenstance than mere coincidence, the Supreme Court on the same date 24/9/26 delivered its ruling on the suit instituted by the Zenith Labour party in the suit where the party claimed that section 77 (5) (6) and (7) of the electoral act 2026 (as amended) which relates to

the membership register of political parties and section 84(2) of the act which relates to methods of nomination of candidates by political parties are both in dispute and inconsistent with the provisions of sections 221 and 222 of the CFRN 1999 (as copy edited) both of which support the supremacy of political parties in sponsorship of candidates to contest for elections as the sole prerogative of political party’s and their internal affairs.

The federal high court presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar on 5th May 2026, ruled against the ZLP, dismissed the suit and established that there is no inconsistency whatsoever between these relevant sections viz S.77 (5)(6)(7) of the electoral act and extant provisions viz S.221 and 222 of the CFRN 1999 (as amended). The ZLP then approached the court of appeal which on 16th July 2026 granted most of the prayers sought by the ZLP uphelding that there is dispute and inconsistency in these sections of the act and they should be voided to the extent of their inconsistency with the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria CFRN 1999 (as amended).

In an apparent turn of events which brought the debate to a supposed climax, the Supreme Court on 24/9/26 upheld the ruling of the federal high court on 5/5/26 and dismissed ZLP’s suit. The apex court affirmed that there is no dispute or inconsistency whatsoever between the relevant sections 77(5)(6)and (7) of the electoral act 2026 (as amended) and the provisions of sections 221 and 222 of the CFRN 1999 (as copy edited).

Despite the rulings of the Supreme Court which clearly politically deactivated nay demobilized Dr Pantami and ruled him out of the primary election ordered by the federal high court, the PDP in an apparent move to deceive Dr Pantami and obtain his money, included him in the ballot for the PDP primary which was conducted on 29th September 2026. The Dankwambo-led PDP not only included Dr Pantami in the PDP primary election but made sure that he won convincingly.

Gombe state Government house

The rulings by the federal high court and that of the Supreme Court; either way, Dr Isa Pantami CANNOT be on the PDP Gombe Guber ballot for the 2027 general elections. His name is not in the membership register submitted to INEC on 10th May 2026. QED.

Clearly this brings to an end, any chances of Dr Pantami contesting as a candidate in the 2027 general elections under the PDP. INEC must not crumble under pressure to relist Dr Pantami else it will be breaking the law which they are meant to uphold.

Moreso, the two other PDP Gombe Guber aspirants who have been screened and cleared by the party to contest the PDP Gombe Guber primary election, Usman Aliyu Garry and Khamis Mailantarki have both appealed against the decision of the federal high court to recognise Dr Isa Pantami as a member of the PDP and to include him in any PDP primary election for the Gombe Guber based on subsisting court judgements of the FHC and SC. They also have subsisting cases at the court of appeal challenging Dr Pantami’s eligibility to contest the PDP Guber primary held on 29th September in the first place which returned Dr Pantami as the winner.

PDP national headquarters

The PDP must not make any legal blunder by fielding Dr Isa Pantami who has been rejected by the law as its candidate for the 2027 Gombe Guber election.

In fact, fielding Dr Pantami as the candidate will be an exercise in futility because in the highly unlikely event that he wins the Gombe 2027 Guber election, the victory will be upturned by the courts on the basis of his ineligibility to contest the elections since he is not a bonafide member of the PDP as his name is not in the membership register submitted to INEC on 10th May 2026.

A word is enough for the wise!

DR PANTAMI’S POLITICAL BLUNDERS

Clearly, Dr Pantami was never a member of the PDP on 10th May 2026 when the PDP submitted its

Membership register to INEC containing the names of its members who can vote and be voted for in the 2027 general elections. Indeed, Dr Isa Pantami was a member of the APC on 10th May 2026 when the PDP submitted its membership register to INEC as required by law. In fact, he was an aspirant in the Gombe APC Guber primary election held on 22nd May 2026 where he came second with 12,120 votes. At the time the APC primary election was conducted on 22nd May 2026, Dr Pantami was technically a member of the APC because although he claimed to have joined the PDP on 19th May 2026, he hasn’t officially resigned from the APC at the time.

INEC headquarters

Dr Isa Pantami admitted that he purchased the APC nomination form for N50 million (N10 million for expression of interest and N40 million for nomination form) in his interview with the TVC on 10th May 2026 where he allegedly lied that some youths contributed money to purchase the form for him even without his knowledge.

Having lost out in the APC guber primaries held on 22nd May 2026 where Dr Jamilu Gwamna emerged victorious with a total of 247,162 votes, Dr Pantami in an after-thought manner, resigned from the APC where he defected to the PDP and allegedly obtained the PDP ticket through the ‘back-door’ less than 24 hours of defecting to the party.

After obtaining the PDP Guber ticket in very hazy and controversial circumstances, Dr Pantami displayed political nincompoopsy and aggravated naivety by hitting the streets to start his political campaign even before the court ruling on the suit challenging his purported nomination and long before the INEC’s commencement date for political canpaign for Guber election which was 9th September 2026 (albeit he claimed he was on a so-called ‘thank-you-tour).

Clearly Dr Pantami started his campaign disguised as ‘thank-you-your’ on 13th July 2026 in Shongom, Kaltungo and Billiri in clear violation of the provisions of the electoral act 2026 (as amended). This was clear 56 days before the date for commencement of Guber campaign based on INEC’s time table. Indeed, it is a clear electoral offence in itself under section 94 (1) of the electoral act 2026 (as amended) which is clear, explicit and unambiguous that;

__Campaigns by political parties shall commence 150 days before the date of election and end 24 hours before polling day. __

DANKWAMBO’S SUBTERFUGE

H.E Dankwambo and the leadership of the PDP in Gombe state must be held responsible for apparently deceiving Dr Pantami and not telling him the truth that he is late for the ticket. Is it because Dr Pantami brought money to the PDP?

H.E Ibrahim Dankwambo

H.E Dankwambo as the leader of the PDP in Gombe state and with his vast experience cannot claim that he doesn’t know the implications of Dr Pantami’s very late entry into the Guber race. If he doesn’t, he should have assembled a team of crack lawyers to assess the situation and advise Dr Pantami accordingly and before hand.

Dankwambo should have blatantly told Dr Pantami at the onset that it is practically impossible for him to scale through the possible legal impediments that will roll out from his late entry into the race.

Instead, Dankwambo seems to have taken advantage of Dr Pantami’s political naivety, nincompoopsy and desperation to encourage him into the PDP Guber race which was never going to scale through the courts. Dankwambo also knows full well that the APC and its agents are on standby to rope Dr Pantami with legal impediments that he cannot survive.

At the end of the day, Dr Pantami has to restrategise and wait for 2031, if ever.