A team of senior advocates representing the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in Gombe State, Professor Isa Pantami, on Monday demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission publish his name on the final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship election.
The lawyers, led by Ahmed Raji, SAN, made the demand in a letter dated October 12, 2026, addressed to INEC Chairman, demanding that the commission publish Ibrahim’s name within three days.
The letter was signed by Raji, A.T. Kehinde, Abdul Mohammed and Wale Balogun, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, alongside Chief Tunde Falola.
INEC had published its final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections on October 10, but Ibrahim’s name was missing from the list, prompting the lawyers to demand an immediate explanation and corrective action.
In the letter titled, “Unlawful and Unexplained Omission of the Name of Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, the Nominated Candidate of the PDP, from the Final List of Candidates for the Office of Governor of Gombe State for the 2027 General Elections,” the lawyers described the omission as unlawful.
They said Pantami was duly nominated by the PDP after winning the party’s fresh governorship primary conducted on September 29, 2026, following a court order nullifying the earlier exercise held on May 26.
The lawyers stated that he was a registered member of the PDP in Pantami Ward, Gombe State, adding that his membership and eligibility had been challenged in two separate suits before the Federal High Court, Gombe.
According to them, the court resolved the membership-related questions against the plaintiffs in both cases, holding that the absence of Pantami’s name from a particular version of the party’s membership register was not sufficient to establish that he was not a member.
Quoting the judgment in Suit No. FHC/GM/CS/9/2026, the lawyers said the court held that the plaintiff had “not established that the 3rd Defendant was legally incapable of being recognised by the 1st Defendant as its member.”
They also cited the judgment in Suit No. FHC/GM/CS/10/2026, in which the court stated that “the fact alone is not conclusive of his non-membership,” referring to the absence of Ibrahim’s name from the register tendered in evidence.
The lawyers, however, acknowledged that the Federal High Court nullified the May 26 primary in its judgments delivered on September 24, 2026, over issues relating to the conduct of the exercise.
They said the court ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary within 30 days, in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026, the party’s constitution and its electoral guidelines.
According to the lawyers, the court’s consequential orders restrained the PDP and INEC from recognising or giving effect to any nomination arising from the May 26 exercise.
They argued that the order did not invalidate any subsequent primary conducted in compliance with the court’s directives.
“In compliance with the court order, the PDP gave the Commission due notice of the court-ordered primary and conducted the fresh gubernatorial primary election on Tuesday, the 29th day of September, 2026,” the letter stated.
The lawyers said the exercise was conducted in accordance with the relevant laws and party guidelines and was attended, observed and monitored by INEC officials.
They added that the commission’s monitoring report was in its custody and that Ibrahim emerged as the winner of the fresh primary, after which his name was resubmitted to INEC as the party’s candidate.
The legal team further argued that INEC lacked the power to remove a duly nominated candidate from the list without a judicial basis.
“It is settled law, binding on the Commission, that the removal of a nominated candidate’s name is exclusively a judicial act,” the lawyers stated, citing previous decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
They maintained that INEC’s role in party primaries was to attend, observe, monitor and report on the exercises, rather than disqualify candidates at its discretion.
The lawyers consequently demanded that INEC publish and circulate Ibrahim’s name as the PDP candidate for the Gombe governorship election in the same manner and with the same prominence as the other candidates on the October 10 list.
“In the circumstances, we have our Client’s firm and unequivocal instructions to demand, and we hereby demand that the Commission, on or before Wednesday the 14th day of October, 2026, publish and circulate the name of Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party,” the letter stated.
The legal team expressed confidence that INEC would take corrective action, urging the commission to uphold the rule of law and comply with judicial orders.
