Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh rejected the PDP's choice of Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as governorship candidate for Gombe State.
Saleh, himself an aspirant on the party's platform, made his position known while addressing reporters at his home in the state capital.
Pantami clinched the ticket through voice affirmation during Tuesday's primary election. This process will determine who contests the 2027 governorship race in Gombe.
Saleh complained the exercise wasn't fair to other aspirants. According to him, candidates like himself had purchased nomination forms and followed every procedure the party outlined.
He raised questions about the timing of the primary. "We expected the election on Sunday," Saleh told journalists, "but suddenly it moved to Tuesday."
Without any word from party officials explaining the shift, he woke up to news that Pantami had won. Saleh expressed shock at how quickly the outcome emerged.
He challenged Pantami's eligibility to contest the PDP primary. According to Saleh, Pantami had already run in the APC governorship primary held on May 21, 2026.
Saleh vowed to fight the result in court. He called on his supporters to remain peaceful and patient as his lawyers work on the case.
"I condemn what happened here in the strongest possible way," the aspirant stated. "It's unjust to me and to other candidates who participated fairly."
His legal team is already preparing the challenge. Saleh said redress will come through the courts.
Pantami's journey to the PDP nomination involved leaving the APC recently. He quit the ruling party after Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna emerged as its consensus governorship candidate in Gombe.
Pantami cited problems with that selection process. According to him, those concerns prompted his decision to switch parties and seek the PDP ticket instead.
