Court Reserves Judgment In Suit Challenging Pantami PDP Ticket

A Federal High Court in Gombe has reserved judgment in a suit challenging the Peoples Democratic Party primary that produced former communications minister Isa Pantami as the party’s governorship candidate.

The case was filed by PDP aspirant Khamisu Mailantarki, who is asking the court to nullify the May 26 primary and order a fresh contest involving only eligible aspirants.

The legal challenge follows Pantami’s emergence as the PDP candidate, which NaijaTrend earlier reported here.

Premium Times reported that Justice Amina-Aliyu Mohammed reserved judgment after hearing submissions from lawyers on both sides. The court said the date for the ruling would be communicated to the parties.

Mailantarki’s lawyer, Mustapha Ibrahim, said his client’s case questions the legality of the primary. He alleged that the process was compromised because a person who was not qualified to participate was allowed to contest.

Daily Post reported that Ibrahim also argued that Pantami was not a registered PDP member at the time of the primary and should not have been allowed to take part.

The PDP’s lawyer, Kamaldeen Ajibade, said the party has three pre-election cases before the court. He confirmed that the Mailantarki case had been argued and was awaiting judgment, while another case was adjourned until July 23.

Sources: Premium Times, Daily Post