The Nyesom Wike-backed faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State has confirmed that the court-ordered fresh governorship primary election will hold on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, in line with the party’s electoral guidelines and relevant rules.
The party’s State Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmed Dukku, disclosed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday.
According to him, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Usman Aliyu Garry and Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki are the three aspirants cleared to participate in the fresh governorship primary.
Dukku said the fresh primary would be conducted in compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, which nullified the earlier primary that produced Pantami as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 general elections.
He said the party was fully prepared for the exercise and would abide by the court’s directive.
‘We will conduct the fresh primary in accordance with the judgment of the Federal High Court.’
However, Dukku dismissed reports that Pantami had been barred from participating in the fresh primary, saying the party was not aware of any Supreme Court judgment preventing the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy from contesting.
He further confirmed that Garry and Mailantarki had also been cleared to participate in Tuesday’s exercise, saying the party had not received anything contrary to that position.
Meanwhile, Garry, one of the aspirants, has opposed Pantami’s participation in the fresh governorship primary scheduled for Tuesday.
Garry, who challenged the earlier primary that produced Pantami as the party’s candidate, said he was ready to participate in the rerun but insisted that Pantami should not be allowed to contest.
He said the fresh primary should involve eligible aspirants, following the court order that nullified the earlier exercise and directed the PDP to conduct a new primary.
Speaking with journalists in Gombe on Monday, Garry said a screening committee led by former Kaduna State Governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, had earlier screened the party’s governorship aspirants.
He alleged that some aspirants were denied the opportunity to participate in the last primary, prompting them to approach the court.
According to him, the court subsequently nullified the earlier primary and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary.
Garry said he and other aspirants had written to the PDP leadership and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urging them to prevent Pantami from participating in the fresh exercise.
He said their position was based on their interpretation that Pantami’s name was not contained in the list of governorship aspirants submitted by the PDP to INEC on May 10.
According to him, ‘Pantami joined the PDP on May 19, and the court also confirmed that. Therefore, his name was not on the list of the party’s aspirants submitted to INEC. He should not be allowed to participate in the fresh primary.’
He urged the PDP and INEC to ensure that the exercise was conducted transparently and in accordance with the court’s judgment.
He also called on INEC to closely monitor the conduct of the primary, maintaining that, in his interpretation of the judgment, Pantami should not participate in the rerun.
Garry expressed readiness to contest the fresh primary, saying he was confident of securing the party’s ticket if the process was conducted transparently.
Meanwhile, another aspirant, Mailantarki, expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious in the rescheduled primary, stressing that the PDP needed a credible, experienced and widely accepted candidate to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election.
The former member of the House of Representatives said he remained prepared to lead the party, citing his experience and grassroots support across the state.
He called on his supporters and PDP members across the 114 wards in the 11 local government areas to remain calm and united ahead of the exercise.
Mailantarki also urged the party leadership to provide a level playing field for all aspirants, stressing that transparency and fairness were necessary to maintain the unity of the party.
He said the court judgment had vindicated his long-standing position that the earlier primary was marred by irregularities and did not reflect the wishes of party members.
He urged all stakeholders to respect the outcome of the fresh primary and ensure that the exercise was conducted in line with the party’s rules and the court’s directives.
According to him, ‘It is a good development and we are going to run in the contest together with him, and so it’s a good development, and we are calling even all our supporters to be calm and to take this in good faith, to abide by whatever comes out of it.’
Reacting to media reports of an appeal by Garry over the judgment, he said, ‘Well, that is another thing. It is everybody’s right to appeal anything that is not satisfactory to him. Definitely there are some areas, some gray areas that need more clarification, because it’s democracy, that is what I’m saying. Just to be appealed, I think you have the right, and even myself, I’m sure there are areas that I’m not very clear on.’
He added, ‘So the rest is that the court will judge, and whatever the outcome, as I said, that democracy is something. What the other parties should be hearing and what have you. And at the end of it, I’m sure the final resolution will be clear, and all of us, the PDP members, will have to abide by it.’
‘So even on the, the former flag-bearer, after now, whatever comes will be accepted in good faith. Just like you said, it’s for protecting the process. So we are not, I mean, it’s not a do or die affairs, we are not after anyone. We just believe in due process, and thing is about to be better now, because the correction was made,’ he added.
According to him, ‘The court has amended, and now we have an opportunity. Before it was just one person, but now after the process, definitely they understand to be one, two, and three. So but before it was one person. So we believe this is good for democracy, and it’s good for all of us.’
The development followed the September 24 judgment of the Federal High Court in Gombe, which nullified the PDP governorship primary that produced Pantami and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary within 30 days.
Meanwhile, the Gombe State office of INEC has confirmed that the fresh primary to elect the PDP governorship candidate in Gombe State will hold on Tuesday as scheduled.
Confirming the development in a telephone conversation, the Public Relations Officer of INEC, Mohorret Bigun, said, ‘Yes, we received a letter to that effect from the National Headquarters, the primary elections will hold on Tuesday.’