SDP Chairmanship Crisis: Appeal Court affirms Gabam-led leadership

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division has affirmed Shehu Gabam as the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), 

The unanimous judgment of a three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court was delivered on March 27, 2026.

It was based on appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/126/2026, filed by aggrieved party member, Fayemi Tosin Babatunde. 

According to the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, the appellant approached the court to contest the validity of the Ekiti State governorship primary election, arguing that the leadership responsible for organising the process is not authentic and lacked the legal authority to appoint an Electoral Committee.  

The appellant’s grievances centred on the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe and Dr. Olu Agunleye, alleging that the leadership was “illegally constituted” and had failed to follow the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act in conducting primaries. 

The appellant had sought court orders prohibiting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising any candidate produced by the disputed leadership.  

The legal battle first saw a victory for the party leadership at the Federal High Court in Abuja on January 19, 2026, where Justice Emeka Nwite dismissed the appellant’s case, ruling that Gombe was indeed the authentic National Chairman and that his appointment fully complied with the SDP’s internal rules and regulations.  

Dissatisfied with the judgement of the trial court, the challenger moved to the Court of Appeal, where a three-member panel of justices: Abba Bello Mohammed, Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, and Oyejoju Oyebiola Oyewumi, set aside all the orders made referring to the leadership tussle within the SPD by the trial court for having been made without jurisdiction.

The Appeal Court held that a court without jurisdiction lacks the vires to make further pronouncement.

In the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Nyesom-Wike, the court held: “The appeal succeeds in part. 

“In respect of the issue of the leadership tussle and the venue of the primaries, I find and hold that the decision of the Federal High Court delivered on January 19, 2026 by Justice Emeka Nwite is affirmed only to the extent that the appellant is not an aspirant to the primary election.”

The Appeal Court held that the decision on Dr. Gombe being the authentic leader of the SDP, “having been made without jurisdiction and being perverse, is set aside.

“The decision that the second respondent (SDP) primary election of November 8, 2025 is valid and in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 is also set aside.”

It then made an order declaring that the SDP has a valid candidate for the gubernatorial election in Ekiti State as all parties to be affected by the order are not before the court.

The court ruled that the primary monitored by INEC is valid

The appellate court held that evidence from INEC’s monitoring report (Exhibit INEC 3) confirmed that the primary was conducted with legitimate delegates and a clear winner: Engr. Bankole David Oludele.  

The appellate court did not make any order as to cost.