Isa Ali Pantami Wins PDP Rerun Governorship Primary in Gombe

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State conducted a rerun governorship primary on September 29, 2026, to select its candidate for the 2027 general election. The exercise followed a September 24 ruling by the Federal High Court in Gombe, where Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed nullified a previous primary held on May 26. The court declared the emergence of Professor Isa Ali Pantami invalid after aspirants Usman Aliyu Garry and Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki challenged the voice affirmation process used to select him.

In the rerun primary, Isa Ali Pantami won decisively with 2,555 votes across 11 local governments. He defeated Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, who received 389 votes, and Usman Aliyu Garry, who received 112 votes. Pantami had previously joined the PDP after failing to secure the governorship ticket from the All Progressives Congress (APC), which chose Jamilu Gwamna as its consensus candidate.

The process was marked by political tension. The PDP accused the APC-led administration of producing 20,000 fake membership cards to interfere in the party's internal affairs. The APC dismissed these claims as baseless attempts to divert attention from the PDP's internal crises, urging the party to provide evidence to law enforcement rather than issuing press statements.