The lingering leadership crisis within the Social Democratic Party (SDP) took a dramatic turn on Friday after the Supreme Court nullified the Court of Appeal judgment that had formed the basis for the Independent National Electoral Commission’s recognition of Shehu Gabam as the party’s National Chairman.
In a unanimous judgment delivered in suit number SC/CV/229/2026 on May 22, 2026, the apex court set aside the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, effectively dismantling the legal foundation upon which INEC relied in recognising the Gabam-led leadership of the party.
The ruling marks a significant development in the protracted internal struggle over the control of the SDP and disputes surrounding the conduct of party primaries, particularly the Ekiti State governorship primary election.
The legal dispute originated from an appeal CA/ABJ/CV/126/2026 filed by an SDP member, Fayemi Babatunde, who challenged the legality of the Ekiti governorship primary election conducted by the party leadership.
Babatunde had argued that the National Working Committee, led by Dr Sadiq Gombe, was unlawfully constituted, in violation of the SDP constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act. He maintained that the leadership lacked the authority to appoint an electoral committee or conduct valid primary elections.
The plaintiff also urged the court to restrain INEC from recognising candidates that emerged from the disputed process.
Earlier, on January 19, 2026, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissed the suit and upheld the legality of the Gombe-led leadership as well as the party’s internal processes.
However, the Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered on March 27, 2026, partly overturned the lower court’s decision.
The three-member appellate panel led by Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, with Justices Abba Mohammed and Oyejoju Oyewumi concurring, ruled that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to make conclusive pronouncements on the SDP leadership dispute.
While holding that Babatunde was not an aspirant in the disputed governorship primary, the appellate court nullified portions of the Federal High Court judgment that recognised Dr Sadiq Gombe as the authentic SDP chairman and also voided the validation of the November 8, 2025, Ekiti governorship primary election.
Despite that ruling, the Court of Appeal relied on INEC’s monitoring report marked as Exhibit INEC 3, which confirmed that the primary election was conducted with valid delegates and produced Bankole Oludele as the winner.
Following the appellate court decision, INEC updated its official records in April, listing Shehu Gabam as SDP National Chairman and Olu Agunloye as National Secretary.
Other members of the National Working Committee, as designated by the commission, included Hajia Maggie Mariam as National Treasurer and Aderemi Abimbola as National Legal Adviser, with several positions marked “By Court Order.”
But with Friday’s Supreme Court judgment setting aside the appellate court ruling in its entirety, the legal basis for INEC’s recognition of the Gabam-led leadership has now been effectively nullified.