2027: INEC grants provisional clearance to Pantami, Gwarzo – Source

By Omeiza Ajayi & Ben Ngwakwe There were strong indications on Thursday night that the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC might have provisionally cleared a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, to contest the 2027 elections.

The clearance of both men is subject to the outcome of pending court cases, it was learned on Thursday night. In Gombe, Pantami’s supporters took over some major areas celebrating the development on Thursday night. INEC officials did not immediately react to Vanguard’s questions regarding the development. But a source said the decisions were reached at the commission’s meeting on Thursday to consider complaints from political parties and candidates whose names were left out of the lists published ahead of the 2027 elections.

The source added that the commission had no objection to their candidacies, but that the pending legal proceedings could still affect the final outcome. The development comes after INEC dropped Pantami’s name from the final list of governorship candidates for Gombe State, although he appeared on the provisional list published on August 29. Pantami emerged as the PDP candidate after leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 19.

One of the aspirants for the ticket, Ahmed Mailantarki Mailantarki, challenged his victory in court. A Federal High Court sitting in Gombe nullified the election and ordered a fresh primary, which Pantami won again. His biggest hurdle was the September 24 Supreme Court judgement, which restored Sections 77(5), (6), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

The provisions bar parties from fielding candidates whose names were not in the membership register submitted to INEC within the stipulated time. Mohammed Haruna, an INEC National Commissioner, had previously said that, in line with the Supreme Court ruling, some parties would not field candidates in 2027. The commission, however, rejected a petition by the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, who had asked it to review his exclusion from the list of candidates.