The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to comply with a Federal High Court judgment directing it to recognise the party’s candidate for the 2026 Osun State governorship election and upload his name on its nomination portal.
The party made the demand on Wednesday while addressing journalists in Abuja, saying the court judgment further affirmed the legitimacy of its current National Working Committee (NWC) and the validity of its governorship primary in Osun State.
National Chairman of the SDP, Prof. Sadiq Gombe, said Justice M.G. Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, delivered judgment in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026 filed by Salawu-Adeniyi Mustapha Adeoti against INEC and three others.
According to Gombe, the court directed INEC to recognise the party’s candidate for the Osun governorship election and upload his name on the commission’s portal.
He said the court also upheld the legitimacy of the SDP’s current National Working Committee, which he said was ratified on March 9, 2026, reaffirmed at the party’s National Convention held on May 9, 2026, and recognised by INEC as the authentic leadership of the party.
Gombe further stated that the court held that the party’s governorship primary election was validly conducted, monitored by INEC and in compliance with the Electoral Act and the SDP Constitution.
The SDP chairman argued that the judgment being relied upon by the party’s expelled former National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, to reclaim the party’s leadership was based on a Court of Appeal decision in Fayemi Tosin Babatunde v. INEC, which, according to him, was set aside by the Supreme Court on May 22, 2026.
He added that following the apex court’s decision, INEC restored him as National Chairman, Dr. Olu Agunloye as National Secretary and other authorised signatories to the party’s accounts.
Gombe said the party had concluded its primary elections across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), adding that it was the first political party to hold a national convention ahead of the 2027 general election, where Adewole Adebayo emerged as its presidential candidate.
He also said the SDP met INEC’s deadlines for uploading candidates, including the June 26 deadline for National Assembly candidates and the July deadline for governorship candidates.
Maintaining that Dr. Ajala remains the party’s duly nominated governorship candidate in Osun State, Gombe said the plaintiff in the suit was neither the SDP governorship candidate nor a participant in the party’s governorship primary election.
He disclosed that the party had appealed an earlier judgment delivered on June 24, 2026, and urged INEC to comply with the latest court order while maintaining the legal position established by the Supreme Court.
