2027 Tension Rises in Gombe PDP as Hamma Saleh Files Appeal Against Primary Outcome

By Our Political Reporter

A fresh crisis appears to be brewing within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State following a formal complaint filed by a governorship aspirant, Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, who alleged that he was wrongfully excluded from the party’s governorship primary election.

In a petition dated May 27, 2026 and addressed to the Chairman of the PDP Governorship Appeals Panel in Gombe, Hamma Saleh accused the party leadership of conducting what he described as a “caricature of election” that eventually produced Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election.

Saleh, a PDP member from Nafada West Ward in Nafada Local Government Area of Gombe State, stated that he was duly screened and cleared by the committee headed by former Kaduna State Governor, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, to contest in the governorship primary election initially scheduled for May 24, 2026.

According to him, despite fulfilling all necessary requirements and receiving clearance from the screening committee, he was allegedly never informed about the conduct of the primary election or its reported rescheduling to May 26, 2026.

The aggrieved aspirant claimed that while at his residence in Gombe on the day of the exercise, he only learned through social media reports that Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami had emerged as the sole aspirant and was subsequently declared winner of the PDP governorship primary.

Saleh further questioned Pantami’s eligibility, alleging that the former minister had previously participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election where he reportedly finished second.

He argued that the entire process lacked fairness, transparency, and due democratic procedure, insisting that genuine party members and aspirants were sidelined in what he termed a “kangaroo arrangement.”

“I hereby appeal to your panel to look into my appeal regarding the kangaroo arrangement that held on May 26, 2026, which is a caricature of election,” Saleh stated in the petition.

The development is expected to deepen internal tensions within the PDP in Gombe State as political observers warn that unresolved grievances among party stakeholders could affect the party’s chances ahead of the 2027 general elections.

As of the time of filing this report, the PDP leadership in Gombe State and Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami had yet to officially respond to the allegations raised in the petition.

The controversy surrounding the governorship primary comes amid growing political realignments and heightened competition among major political actors in Gombe State ahead of the next electoral cycle.