* Ex-Minister’s omission raises religious bias, electoral fairness concerns – Akintola
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has demanded the immediate reinstatement of Professor Isa Ali Pantami as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State for the 2027 elections, following the omission of his name from the final list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The organisation also called on President Bola Tinubu to remove INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, alleging that the commission’s handling of Pantami’s candidacy raises concerns about religious bias and the impartiality of the electoral process.
MURIC’s Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, made the demands at a press conference at the organisation’s headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
The intervention came as the PDP and Pantami, through their lawyers, gave INEC until Wednesday, October 14, to publish his name as the party’s candidate, describing its omission from the final list as unlawful and unexplained.
In a letter dated October 12 and addressed to the INEC chairman, the legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ahmed Raji argued that Pantami had emerged from a fresh governorship primary conducted in compliance with a Federal High Court order.
The lawyers warned that failure to publish his name within the stipulated period could lead to further legal action.
Court-ordered primary produced Pantami
Pantami initially emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate on May 26, 2026. His nomination was subsequently challenged in two suits before the Federal High Court in Gombe, with the plaintiffs raising issues concerning the conduct of the primary, his party membership and his eligibility.
In judgments delivered on September 24, the court nullified the May 26 primary over procedural issues and directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary within 30 days, allowing previously cleared aspirants to participate.
According to Pantami’s lawyers, the court resolved the membership and eligibility questions against the plaintiffs, holding that the evidence did not establish that he was ineligible to be recognised as a PDP member.
The lawyers stressed that the court’s orders barred the recognition of a nomination arising from the May 26 exercise, while directing the party to conduct a fresh primary in accordance with the law, its constitution and its electoral guidelines.
The PDP subsequently conducted another primary on September 29, in which Pantami again emerged as the party’s candidate.
MURIC said Pantami polled 2,054 votes to defeat Khamisu Mailantarki, who scored 389 votes, and Aliyu Garry, who received 112 votes. The organisation also noted that INEC officials monitored the exercise.
Pantami’s lawyers said the PDP notified INEC of the fresh primary and resubmitted his name after the exercise. They added that the commission had custody of the monitoring report.
Lawyers challenge INEC’s omission
In their letter to INEC, the lawyers said the commission had previously received Pantami’s nomination documents and published his name in August before the court nullified the original primary.
They argued that the September 29 exercise was a fresh process conducted pursuant to the court’s directive and should not be treated as a continuation of the nullified primary.
Citing previous Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions, the legal team maintained that INEC could not independently disqualify a party’s nominated candidate or remove his name without a judicial basis.
“The Commission’s role in primaries is to attend, observe, monitor and report, not to disqualify, and not to cherry-pick,” the lawyers stated in the letter.
They demanded that INEC publish Pantami’s name with the same prominence as those of other candidates on the final list released on October 10.
The omission has also drawn attention to the fact that the final list contained 16 governorship candidates for Gombe State but did not include a candidate under the PDP. INEC’s published list did not state why Pantami’s name was excluded.
MURIC questions fairness of the electoral process
Akintola questioned why INEC would omit Pantami after the PDP conducted a fresh primary following a court order and the commission reportedly monitored the exercise.
He argued that the omission raised concerns about the treatment of a candidate who had participated in a court-ordered process and emerged as the winner of his party’s primary.
MURIC maintained that candidates should not be prevented from contesting elections without a clear and lawful justification. It called for Pantami’s name to be restored to the list and urged the electoral commission to explain its decision.
The organisation described itself as non-partisan, saying its interest was the protection of Muslim candidates and voters across political parties rather than the advancement of any particular party.
Akintola said MURIC’s position was consistent with its previous interventions on issues it considered discriminatory against Muslims, including its opposition to the re-election of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke during the August 2026 governorship election.
MURIC also called on Tinubu to replace Amupitan, alleging that the INEC chairman’s handling of Pantami’s candidacy had reinforced concerns the organisation previously raised about his appointment.
Akintola linked the allegations to an 80-page legal brief reportedly associated with Amupitan and concerning claims of religious persecution in Nigeria. MURIC argued that the alleged connection raised questions about the chairman’s impartiality.
“We pass a vote of no confidence in Professor Amupitan,” Akintola said, urging Tinubu to appoint a successor who would be impartial and free from religious prejudice.
He further alleged that Muslim candidates could face discrimination under the current leadership of INEC, citing Pantami’s omission as the basis for the organisation’s concern. The claim remains MURIC’s position and has not been independently verified.
Group cites Christian clerics serving as governors
To support its argument that religious identity should not determine access to political office, MURIC cited Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue and Taraba states, whose governors it described as pastors or Christian clerics.
The organisation argued that an Islamic scholar should have the same opportunity to contest a governorship election, provided the relevant constitutional and electoral requirements are met.
MURIC therefore demanded the immediate reinstatement of Pantami as the PDP candidate for Gombe State and called on Tinubu to replace Amupitan.
The PDP and Pantami’s lawyers have set Wednesday, October 14, as the deadline for INEC to publish the candidate’s name, warning of further legal action if the commission fails to comply. The dispute now centres on the reason for the omission, the implications of the court judgments and the steps INEC will take to address the demand.
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