The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in Gombe State, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, have given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) three days to include his name on the final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.

The demand was conveyed in a formal legal notice dated October 12, 2026, and addressed to the INEC chairman by the law firm Ahmed Raji & Co., representing the party and Pantami.

The legal team described the omission of Pantami’s name from the final list published on October 10 as unlawful and unexplained, insisting that he had emerged as the party’s candidate after a court-ordered fresh primary election.

Pantami initially won the PDP governorship primary on May 26, 2026, and submitted his personal particulars to INEC. The commission subsequently published his name on its provisional list on August 29.

However, his emergence as the party’s candidate was challenged in two separate cases before the Federal High Court in Gombe over issues relating to the conduct of the primary and his eligibility.

In judgments delivered on September 24, the court nullified the May primary because of procedural irregularities and directed the PDP to conduct a fresh election within 30 days.

The court also considered challenges to Pantami’s party membership and eligibility, ruling against the plaintiffs on those grounds.

In compliance with the court order, the PDP conducted a fresh governorship primary on September 29, with INEC officials reportedly present to observe and monitor the exercise.

Pantami emerged victorious again, after which the party resubmitted his name to the electoral commission as its nominated candidate for the 2027 Gombe governorship election.

Despite the fresh primary, his name was missing from the final list released by INEC on October 10.

The legal team argued that the commission had no authority to independently disqualify a nominated candidate or remove a name without a judicial basis. It maintained that INEC’s role in party primaries was to observe, monitor and report on the process.

The lawyers cited previous court decisions to support their position that the removal of a nominated candidate’s name falls within the jurisdiction of the judiciary.

The legal notice demanded that INEC publish and circulate Pantami’s name as the PDP’s official governorship candidate for Gombe State by Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

The lawyers also requested that his name be displayed with the same prominence as those of other candidates already published by the commission.

They urged INEC to take corrective action and formally confirm the steps taken to resolve the matter, warning that further legal action could follow if the commission failed to comply with the demand.

The dispute comes amid wider questions surrounding the eligibility of some political parties’ nominees following recent court decisions on party membership registers and participation in primary elections ahead of the 2027 polls.