The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State has fixed Tuesday, September 29, 2026, for a fresh governorship primary election following a Federal High Court order nullifying the process that produced Isa Ali Pantami as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a public notice issued on Friday, the party’s Gombe State Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmed Dukku, directed eligible delegates to assemble at their respective ward areas on Tuesday to vote for their preferred aspirant.
“The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Gombe state wishes to inform all its card-carrying members that there will be a gubernatorial repeat primary election on Tuesday, 29th September, 2026,” the notice reads.
Dukku urged party members, supporters and other stakeholders to cooperate with the exercise and maintain peace and order throughout the process.
The party has cleared Pantami, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry to participate in the rescheduled primary.
BACKGROUND
The fresh primary follows Thursday’s judgment by the Federal High Court in Gombe, which nullified Pantami’s emergence as the PDP’s governorship candidate and ordered the party to conduct another primary in accordance with its constitution, guidelines and applicable electoral laws.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed delivered the judgment in a suit filed by Garry, a PDP governorship aspirant, who challenged the process through which Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate.
Pantami had emerged through a voice-affirmation process during the PDP’s governorship primary in May after joining the party following his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship contest.
He had attributed his withdrawal from the APC primary to alleged breaches of the electoral process before subsequently joining the PDP and securing its governorship ticket.
The court’s ruling reopened the PDP’s governorship contest in the state and requires the party to conduct a fresh primary to determine its candidate for the 2027 election.
