Judiciary
Court Reserves Judgment in SDP Suit Challenging Adebayo’s 2027 Presidential Candidacy
A Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its National Organising Secretary, Dr Chukwuma Ogbonna, challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) publication of Adewole Adebayo as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Justice Salim Ibrahim reserved judgment for a date to be communicated to the parties after counsel for the plaintiffs and the defendants adopted their written addresses and presented their arguments.
The plaintiffs are seeking an order compelling INEC to recognise and publish the name of Hon. Abimbola Akeem Atanda, whom they insist emerged as the party’s validly nominated presidential candidate.
According to the plaintiffs, the SDP conducted its presidential primary election and national convention on May 20, 2026, in Abuja, under the leadership of its National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam. They claimed that Atanda emerged as the party’s presidential candidate at the exercise.
They further maintained that INEC monitored the primary and subsequently issued a Certified True Copy of its monitoring report.
The plaintiffs said the party also submitted Atanda’s name and personal particulars to the electoral commission following his emergence as the winner of the primary.
However, they alleged that INEC subsequently published Adebayo’s name as the SDP’s presidential candidate instead of Atanda’s, whom they described as the duly nominated winner of the monitored exercise.
The plaintiffs argued that the commission’s action was inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, and urged the court to intervene.
Among the reliefs sought, they want an order restraining INEC from recognising, accepting or publishing the name of any person other than their claimed duly nominated candidate as the SDP’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
They are also asking the court to set aside the publication of Adebayo’s name and prevent INEC from placing his name on the ballot as the party’s candidate, arguing that he was not properly nominated by the SDP.
Additionally, the plaintiffs want the court to direct INEC to recognise and publish Atanda’s name as the candidate who, according to them, won the presidential primary monitored by the commission.
The court is expected to notify the parties of the judgment date when it is ready.
The suit challenges INEC’s recognition of the SDP’s presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election, with the court’s eventual decision expected to determine the outcome of the dispute before it.
