2027: Supreme Court Judgment supersedes High Court ruling, SDP tells INEC, Gabam

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by Prof. Sadiq Umar Gombe, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disregard what it described as attempts by its expelled former National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, to rely on a Federal High Court judgment to reclaim the party’s leadership.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba in a statement on Friday, told the INEC that the ground upon which the FHC judgment was based has been set aside by the Supreme Court and thus cannot stand.

This comes following a high court judgment submitted to INEC by Gabam and its legal term laying fresh claim to the party’s leadership, using the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 24, 2026, in a suit instituted by Salawu Adeniyi Mustapha Adeoti against INEC and three others.

However, SDP told INEC that the said judgment has been appealed by the party, and it is now pending before the Court of Appeal.

The party further argued that the Supreme Court had consistently held that courts lacked jurisdiction to determine who should occupy the positions of National Chairman, National Secretary or other leadership offices in political parties.

It also contended that the Federal High Court judgment did not contain any positive order directing INEC to recognise Gabam as National Chairman or Ogbonna Okechukwu as National Secretary.

The SDP stated that the declaration in the judgment criticising INEC for not recognising Gabam relied on an earlier Court of Appeal decision in Fayemi Tosin Babatunde v. INEC, which had already been nullified by the Supreme Court on May 22, 2026, more than a month before the Federal High Court delivered its judgment.

It maintained that INEC had previously complied with the Court of Appeal judgment before it was overturned by the apex court, leaving no subsisting appellate decision upon which the Federal High Court could rely.

The party warned that any attempt to alter its leadership on the strength of the High Court ruling would effectively amount to restoring a judgment already voided by the Supreme Court.

The SDP accused its former chairman of engaging in actions capable of undermining internal democracy, insisting that the party was not anyone’s personal estate but a national institution belonging to Nigerians.

“The SDP calls on the INEC to take note that the said judgment has been appealed against by the Social Democratic Party, and it is now pending before the Court of Appeal.

“It is clear that the said plaintiff is not the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the Osun State and did not participate in our primary election. Dr Ajala is the SDP governorship candidate.

“With respect to the leadership of the SDP, the Supreme Court has maintained that courts do not have jurisdiction to determine who can be the national chairman, national secretary, or the leadership of a political party.

“Having moved beyond the distraction of Shehu Musa Gabam, the party is focused on strongly building and reinforcing its capacity for victory ahead of the 2027 general elections,” Aiyenigba said.

It would be recalled that Gombe’s name was uploaded on INEC’s portal after Gabam’s name was removed, following the Supreme Court ruling. Gabam, however, renewed his claim to the leadership of SDP with a high court judgment dated June 24.