Follow Us on Google
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit seeking to remove Adewole Adebayo as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate for the 2027 general election and compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Abimbola Akeem Atanda as the party’s duly nominated candidate.
The suit, instituted by a faction of the SDP aligned with former National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, challenges INEC’s publication of Adebayo’s name, alleging that the commission disregarded the outcome of a presidential primary it monitored on May 20, 2026.
Justice Salim Ibrahim reserved judgment on Tuesday after counsel to the parties adopted their final written addresses and presented arguments for and against the suit. The court said a date for delivering judgment would be communicated to the parties.
The plaintiffs, comprising the SDP and its National Organising Secretary, Chukwuma Ogbonna, maintained that the party conducted its presidential primary and national convention in Abuja under Gabam’s leadership, with INEC officials observing the exercise.
They claimed that the commission subsequently issued a Certified True Copy of its monitoring report, confirming the conduct of the primary from which Atanda emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
According to the plaintiffs, the party submitted Atanda’s name and personal particulars to INEC in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026, but the commission allegedly disregarded the submission and published Adebayo as the SDP candidate.
They argued that INEC’s action violated the electoral law and amounted to the substitution of a candidate who emerged through the party’s nomination process.
Consequently, the plaintiffs asked the court to set aside the publication of Adebayo’s name and restrain INEC from recognising, accepting or publishing him as the SDP presidential candidate.
They also sought an order preventing the commission from placing his name on the ballot for the January 16, 2027 presidential election, maintaining that he was not validly nominated by the party.
Other News
The plaintiffs further prayed the court to compel INEC to recognise and publish Atanda’s name as the candidate who emerged from the presidential primary allegedly monitored by the commission.
The legal challenge is the latest development in the protracted leadership and presidential nomination dispute within the SDP, which has produced rival claims over the party’s recognised leadership and its candidate for the forthcoming election.
In August, the Court of Appeal in Abuja set aside an earlier Federal High Court judgment recognising Gabam as the party’s national chairman, following a challenge by the SDP leadership headed by Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Gombe.
The appellate court held that the judgment recognising Gabam was inconsistent with an earlier Supreme Court decision, thereby strengthening the position of the Gombe-led leadership, which supports Adebayo’s presidential candidacy.
The leadership dispute subsequently returned to the Supreme Court, which, in September, dismissed Gabam’s challenge, leaving the Gombe-led structure in control of the party.
Despite those decisions, the rival faction has continued to challenge Adebayo’s nomination, insisting that Atanda emerged from a valid presidential primary and that INEC should recognise the outcome.
Adebayo, who has maintained that he was duly nominated by the recognised SDP leadership, remains the candidate published by INEC pending the determination of the latest suit.
The Federal High Court’s reserved judgment will address the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs concerning the commission’s recognition and publication of the party’s presidential candidate.
The Gombe-led SDP leadership has maintained that Adebayo was validly nominated and that the rival faction’s claims are inconsistent with the subsisting judicial decisions on the party’s leadership.
The court has yet to determine the latest nomination dispute, and no judgment date has been announced.
