“Pantami Said I Don’t Like Him” — Lawyer Bulama Bukarti Denies Personal Grudge, Says Law Is Zero-Bias

UK-based Nigerian lawyer, Bulama Audu Bukarti, has reacted to the nullification of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Gombe State, insisting his earlier legal analysis that predicted the crisis was based purely on law and not personal hatred for the party’s candidate, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).

Speaking on his weekly current affairs programme, Fashin Baki, Bukarti said weeks ago he had warned that the PDP risked losing its candidacy in Gombe State, a prediction he said has now come to pass.

“We warned again weeks ago that PDP could lose its candidacy in Gombe State, now it has been confirmed. I will be extremely surprised if any court in Nigeria orders the reinstatement of candidates whose names were not on the initial register submitted by parties to INEC,” Bukarti said.

Bukarti disclosed that a scholar had brought a message to him that Professor Pantami felt he disliked him. He said he was surprised by the claim, stressing that his analysis has nothing to do with personal sentiments.

“What has Professor Pantami done to me that will make me compromise my zero-bias stance? We came here to interpret the law,” he said.

The lawyer recalled that in his analysis in May 2026, he had predicted that the PDP primary said to have been conducted would be nullified and warned that if the party failed to follow due process, it would lose its candidate in Gombe.

“It has nothing to do with personal sentiments, it has everything to do with legal analysis. The law does not look at someone’s face, hear someone’s voice, or perceive his perfume before it says what it says. The law remains as it is — zero bias. It applies to those you like and those you dislike,” Bukarti stated.

He said since he started the programme, he has never told anyone not to vote for Pantami because he is not from Gombe, nor has he campaigned against him. His job, he said, was only to explain what the law provides and the consequences of not following procedure.

Bukarti further revealed that many Gombe candidates, including major contenders, had sought private discussions with him, but he declined, insisting his platform, Fashin Baki, invites candidates to present their manifestos publicly without need for private meetings.

He added that one of the candidates who went to court over the Gombe PDP primary had called to thank him for his May analysis, but he told him he was only stating the truth as he understood the law, not to please anyone.

“I wanted to make this clarification because I understand Professor Pantami watches this programme. I swear I do not dislike him. This analysis has nothing to do with liking or hating him. I am merely looking at the law and the facts known about Gombe,” he said.

Bukarti, however, conceded that another lawyer could have a different interpretation and that the court could correct him if he was wrong, but maintained that for now, his prediction has been vindicated.

With INEC omitting Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim’s name from the final list of governorship candidates for the 2027 elections after the Federal High Court nullified the first primary, Bukarti said he doubts any court will order a reinstatement where names were missing from the initial party register submitted to INEC.