Final Lists Missing Names: Finally INEC Confirms Pantami Non Gubernatorial Candidature
From Muhammad Kabir, Kano
In what affairs losing out of the contest of Governorship of Gombe State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), final list produced without the names of Professor Ali Isa Pantami of People’s Democratic Party PDP, missing conspicuously.
INEC released the list in line with the stipulated laws and the commitment made by its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to follows the rules strictly.
According to the list, a total of 16 candidates have been cleared to contest the February 6, 2027, governorship election in the state.
The candidates include Bala Bello Tinka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Babayo Ardo Kumo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Other candidates on the final list include Zubairu Mu’azu Halilu of the Labour Party, Lamela L. Silas of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ibrahim Jalo Abubakar of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Adamu Mohammed Ma’aji of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), among others.
However, Pantami, whose name appeared on the provisional list published on August 29, is absent from the final list.
Pantami had earlier emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate after defecting from the APC on May 19. However, Ahmed Mailantarki Mailantarki, one of the aspirants who contested the PDP ticket, challenged the outcome of the primary election in court.
The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe subsequently nullified the primary election and ordered the party to conduct a fresh exercise, which Pantami won again.
However, his participation in the 2027 governorship election faced further uncertainty following the Supreme Court’s September 24 judgment, which restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. The provisions concern party membership registers and eligibility requirements for candidates seeking to contest elections.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding Pantami’s candidacy, INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna had indicated that some political parties might be unable to field candidates in the 2027 elections in compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Pantami’s absence from the final list raises fresh questions about the PDP’s participation in the Gombe governorship election and the former minister’s political future
