Pantami Def

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Professor Isa Ali Pantami, the immediate past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has been elected as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Gombe State ahead of the 2027 elections.

Pantami secured the ticket through voice affirmation at the party’s primary election held on Tuesday in Gombe. The event, which took place at a designated venue in the state capital, saw party stakeholders unanimously endorse the former minister as their flagbearer.

The Chairman of the PDP Electoral Panel, Gregory Yenlong, subsequently declared Pantami the sole aspirant. In a video circulating online and posted by Nigerian Affairs Journal, Yenlong announced: “I declare Prof. Isa Aliu Pantami the duly elected and sole gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the state.”

Speaking to a crowd of supporters after his emergence, Pantami said his decision to join the race was driven by a desire to serve the people of Gombe State. He pledged that if elected in 2027, his administration would be guided by fairness and justice.

“I contested for the seat to offer service to the people of the state,” Pantami said. “If I am elected, I promise that my administration will prioritise equity and good governance.”

Pantami is expected to face the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Jamilu Gwamna, in the 2027 election.

Prior to his emergence as the PDP candidate, Pantami had withdrawn from the APC governorship primary in Gombe State, citing alleged violations of the Electoral Act and irregularities in the party’s electoral process. He had opposed the consensus arrangement that produced Gwamna as the APC candidate.

Following the APC primaries, four PDP governorship aspirants raised concerns over what they described as attempts to bring Pantami into the PDP race. In a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting on Sunday in Gombe, the aspirants—Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Hon. Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry, and Mrs. Monica Kaltho—argued that the law does not permit a candidate to defect from one political party to another and contest the same election after votes had already been cast and counted in his favour in another party’s primary.

The aspirants stated that while they welcome all well-meaning individuals into the PDP, they strongly object to any attempt to involve a person who had already participated in another party’s primaries.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing a suit seeking to disqualify him.

The case was brought by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, who asked the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself as a candidate to any political party for the 2027 poll. He also sought an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting, processing, or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.

Jideobi had asked the court to determine whether, based on Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan remained eligible to seek the office of president again.

In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu held that Jonathan could lawfully participate in the election. The judge noted that both a Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had previously ruled that Jonathan was eligible to run, and that he was bound by the appellate court’s decision.

Justice Lifu also ruled that Jideobi lacked the legal standing to bring the suit, as he had not suffered any direct loss from Jonathan’s alleged intention to run. The judge described the lawsuit as “an abuse of court process” and dismissed a motion by Jideobi seeking the judge’s recusal, calling the motion frivolous.

The court awarded a N20 million fine against Jideobi in favour of the former president, and an additional N1 million fine in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The ruling comes after a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki last week offered Jonathan a waiver as the party’s sole presidential candidate for 2027.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Muslims in their numbers prayed on Mount Arafat on Tuesday at the climax of the hajj pilgrimage, as a punishing desert sun sent temperatures soaring towards 40C.

From daybreak, thousands of white-robed worshippers recited Quranic verses on the 70-metre (230 feet) rocky hill near Mecca, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his last sermon.

More than 1.5 million people have joined the hajj this year despite the shadow of war across the Middle East created by the US and Israeli war with Iran.

During the fighting, Tehran retaliated with waves of drone and ballistic missile strikes, hitting major infrastructure and energy installations across the Gulf, including in Saudi Arabia.

More than 30,000 Iranians have made the journey, about a third of the 86,000 originally expected. Iran’s IRNA state news agency said the “wartime situation” explained the drop.

Despite the war, Saudi officials said over the weekend that more pilgrims had travelled from abroad this year than in 2025.

The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means to do so.

With temperatures hitting 44 degrees in Mecca in recent days, Saudi authorities have urged pilgrims to drink plenty of water and protect themselves from the sun during the mostly outdoor rituals, which can take five days or more to complete.

Since men are prohibited from wearing hats, many carry umbrellas to try to keep the blistering sun at bay.

After Mount Arafat, pilgrims will spend the night in Muzdalifah, where they will collect pebbles for the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina, starting on Wednesday.

The hajj is said to follow the path of the Prophet Mohammed’s final pilgrimage, about 1,400 years ago.

It has long been an important source of legitimacy for the Al Saud dynasty, whose monarch has the title “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”, in Mecca and Medina.