2027 Election: Court Takes Action Over Suit Challenging PDP Candidacy of Buhari’s Former Minister
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
A Federal High Court in Gombe State has commenced hearing in a pre-election suit challenging the emergence of Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State.
Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh filed the suit before Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed, challenging Pantami’s emergence.
Saleh is seeking the court’s intervention over the process that produced Pantami as the PDP flagbearer in the 2027 election.
He alleged irregularities in the conduct of the PDP’s governorship nomination exercise.
As reported by Daily Trust, Justice Mohammed adjourned the proceedings until Thursday, July 9, 2026, for further mention.
Saleh had appealed to the PDP leadership to address his grievances and review the conduct of the primary election.
The aggrieved aspirant had urged the PDP to exhaust its internal dispute resolution mechanisms in the interest of fairness, unity and due process.
He described his efforts to obtain redress within the party as unsuccessful before approaching the court.
Saleh went further to institute legal action to challenge the outcome of the exercise.
The suit is expected to attract considerable political interest as the PDP intensifies preparations for the 2027 governorship election in Gombe State.
Legit.ng reports that Pantami withdrew from contesting the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Gombe state.
The former minister cited anomalies in the primary election processes.
Pantami's withdrawal from the poll started generating reactions from his supporters, who are calling on him to dump the APC and contest in another party.
Pantami wins PDP Governorship Ticket in Gombe
Recall that Pantami defected to the PDP and secured the party’s governorship ticket for Gombe State through a voice affirmation primary.
Party officials confirmed him as the sole aspirant after the nomination process held in Gombe on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
His emergence followed objections from some party members who questioned the legality of his entry into the race after earlier political involvement elsewhere.
Pantami reacts to man’s allegation of killing university student
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that Pantami denied ever killing or directing anyone to kill anyone. On Monday, November 24, 2025, an X (formerly Twitter) user, @escobo123456, claimed that Pantami, 'who is now forming holier than thou,' allegedly killed a student in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi state.
In an interview with The Punch, published on April 22, 2021, Samuel Achi, a former lecturer of Industrial Chemistry at the Kaduna State University, narrated how his son, Sunday Achi, was allegedly strangled at ATBU mosque.
Achi, a professor, also said he was aware that Pantami was the chief imam of the university’s mosque when the incident happened on December 9, 2004.
Source: Legit.ng
