*PDP, Pantami Give Commission Three Days To Publish Name As Gombe Guber Candidate
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described as “fraudulent,” the list of governorship candidates for the next year’s elections currently in circulation, concerning candidates in six states- Zamfara, Gombe, Delta, Plateau, Yobe, and Kano.
The electoral body, in a post on its X handle, on Monday, October 12, said: “The Commission wishes to categorically inform the general public that the publication is FAKE and did not originate from INEC.
“INEC, therefore, urges members of the public to disregard the fraudulent publication and refrain from sharing it.”
It said any information suggesting that it had issued a special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the aforementioned states is false, categorically inform the general public that the publication is FAKE and did not originate from it.
INEC advised the public to disregard the fraudulent publication and refrain from sharing it, and to rely solely on official notices, press releases, and other information issued through the its verified communication channels, reiterating its commitment to keeping the public accurately informed.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Gombe State governorship candidate, Isa Pantami, have issued a three-day ultimatum to the Commission to publish his name on the final list of candidates for the elections.
His Counsel, the law firm of Ahmed Raji & Co., which conveyed the demand in a formal legal document dated October 12, to the INEC chairman and signed by Ahmed Raji, A.T. Kehinde, Abdul Mohammed, Wale Balogun, and Tunde Falola, stated that Pantami’s name was “unlawfully and inexplicably omitted” from the now disowned list of October 10, despite his emergence as winner of the party’s court-ordered fresh primary election.
The letter recalled that Pantami originally won the PDP primary election on May 26, after which he submitted his personal particulars (Form EC9) to INEC under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, and INEC published them on 29 August.
The primary election was, however, challenged in two separate suits at the Federal High Court in Gombe over Pantami’s PDP membership and eligibility.
The court in its September 24 judgments affirmed Pantami’s PDP membership and eligibility, holding that membership is a domestic affair of the political party.
It, however, nullified the May 26 primary based on procedural issues regarding its conduct, and ordered PDP to hold a fresh primary election within 30 days, allowing all previously cleared aspirants, including Pantami, to participate.
In compliance with the court’s directive, PDP held a fresh primary election on September 29, monitored and observed by INEC officials, where Pantami again emerged as winner, and his name was resubmitted to the commission.
His Counsel, citing Supreme Court and Court of Appeal precedents, including Dingyadi v. INEC and Raymond v. INEC, stressed that INEC lacks the power to disqualify candidates or omit nominated names, as the judiciary alone can remove a candidate’s name, adding: “The Commission’s role in primaries is to attend, observe, monitor and report, not to disqualify, and not to cherry-pick.”
The lawyers gave INEC until Wednesday, October 14, to publish and circulate Pantami’s name as the official PDP governorship candidate for Gombe State in the elections with the same prominence as other published candidates, warning of further legal action should the commission fail to comply
