Court begins hearing suits challenging PDP Gombe gov candidate nomination

The Federal High Court in Gombe, Nigeria, has commenced hearings for legal challenges questioning the legitimacy of Professor Isa Pantami's nomination as the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 governorship election. The proceedings were initiated by two PDP governorship aspirants, Khamis Mailantarki and Alhaji Hamma-Sale Abdulkadir, who are separately contesting Pantami's emergence.

Presiding over the cases, Justice Amina-Aliyu Mohammed adjourned the matters until July 9. This decision came after the legal representatives for the respondents requested additional time to prepare and submit their responses to the allegations. The plaintiffs are asking the court to nullify Pantami's nomination, citing a lack of a valid primary election or a lawful consensus process.

Key contentions from the plaintiffs include allegations that Pantami did not purchase the required PDP nomination form and did not participate in the party's screening for governorship aspirants. Furthermore, they claim Pantami was simultaneously pursuing the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and was not a registered PDP member at the time of his alleged adoption through a consensus arrangement.

The suits have joined the PDP, Pantami himself, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents. The plaintiffs are represented by B.A. Jatau for Mailantarki and S.A. Mustapha for Abdulkadir. The respondents' legal team, including Mr. Benjamin Sati, Ibrahim Attahir, E.O. Akawu, and INEC's counsel Mr. Ayuba Peter, indicated they had only recently been briefed and needed more time to prepare their defense. Despite the plaintiffs' absence, several respondents were present in court.

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We have just been briefed by our clients and respectfully seek time to prepare and file our counter-affidavits.