Pantami's team asks supporters to stay calm after INEC leaves him out of Gombe list

The spokesperson for the Pantamiyya Movement, Professor Suleiman Mohammed, has asked supporters of former Communications Minister, Professor Isa Pantami, to stay calm. This follows the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) leaving Pantami and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of its list of governorship candidates in Gombe State.

Mohammed called the omission a temporary issue in a statement shared by Pantami on his Facebook account on Saturday. He urged supporters not to see this as a final decision about Pantami’s political future.

He told members of the PDP and the Pantamiyya Movement to remain hopeful and focused as the electoral process goes on.

“This is a temporary challenge and a normal part of the electoral process, not a final determination, in sha Allah,” the statement said.

The statement also noted that Pantami’s name was missing from INEC’s published list. This was surprising since he emerged as the PDP governorship candidate in a new primary held on September 29.

This new primary was ordered by the Federal High Court in Gombe. The court wanted another election to choose the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.

While many other political parties had their candidates listed, Pantami and the PDP were not included in the published list.

The statement did not mention what steps the party or Pantami’s team would take to fix the omission.