The Supreme Court has nullified the Court of Appeal judgment, which invalidated the conduct of the gubernatorial Primary election of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, for the June 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba in an appeal marked SC/CV/229/2026, the Apex Court set aside the appellate court decision, which had also affirmed the leadership structure of Sheu Gabam recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The lead judgment of the Supreme Court voided and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, which invalidated the primary election conducted by the SDP under the leadership of Dr Sadiq Abubakar Gombe and which produced Isaac Adebayo Alade as the governorship candidate for Ekiti gubernatorial election for the party.
In the place of the voided Court of Appeal judgment, the Supreme Court restored the judgment of the Federal High Court, delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, which had dismissed a suit filed by one Fayemi Babatunde that challenged the legality of the conduct of the SDP governorship primary election in Ekiti state.
The Supreme Court held that the High Court was right in holding that Fayemi Babatunde, who instituted the case, has no legal right (locus standi) to have filed the case because he was not a contestant in the primary election he challenged.
Fayemi Babatunde, who challenged the legality of the Ekiti SDP governorship primary conducted under the leadership of the party’s National Working Committee, led by Dr Sadiq Gombe, had asked the High Court to annul the primary election on the ground that it was done under a national leadership that has no power to do so.
But Justice Emeka Nwite in his judgment of January 19, 2026, dismissed the suit of Babatunde, holding that he has no locus standi to challenge the validity of the primary poll as he was not a contestant.
The Federal High Court Judge also held that it has no jurisdiction to delve into the matter, being an internal affair of the SDP.
Not satisfied with the High Court judgment, Fayemi Babatunde had approached the Court of Appeal which in its judgment delivered on March 27, 2026 agreed with Babatunde and subsequently invalidated the SDP primary election.
Babatunde had argued that the leadership structure that organised the primary election was unlawfully constituted and in breach of both the party’s Constitution and the Electoral Act, insisting that the leadership lacked the legal authority to constitute an electoral committee or conduct valid primaries.
He further sought an order restraining INEC from recognising a candidate that emerged from the disputed process.
However, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, in judgment CA/ABJ/CV/126/2026 delivered on March 27, 2026, partly overturned the lower court’s decision.
The three-member appellate panel led by Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, alongside Justices Abba Mohammed and Oyejoju Oyewumi, held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to make conclusive pronouncements on the SDP’s internal leadership dispute.
The Court of Appeal voided portions of the Federal High Court judgment that recognised Dr Sadiq Gombe as the authentic National Chairman of the party and also set aside the validation of the November 8, 2025 governorship primary election.
However, the Supreme Court agreed with the High Court that the Plaintiff, Fayemi Babatunde, had no locus standi not being an aspirant and that robbed the Court of jurisdiction.
That the Federal High Court was right to have dismissed the suit for lack of locus standi and having so dismissed the suit should not have bothered to make other findings.
That the Court of Appeal per Nyesom-Wike JCA was wrong to have, on the basis of an appeal by an appellant lacking in locus standi and without jurisdiction, to invalidate the Ekiti Governorship primary election which returned Ambassador Isaac Adebayo Alade as the SDP Governorship candidate for the June 2026 election in Ekiti State.
“The Court of Appeal is wrong to have on the basis of this appeal pronounced on the issue of venue and other aspects of the Ekiti State Governorship primary Election of the SDP. That judgement is also set aside.
“The Court of Appeal is wrong to have alluded to or rely on INEC report on another purported parallel Governorship primary election of Engineer David Oludele Bankole. That is also set aside.
“The Court of Appeal was wrong to have made pronouncements on the leadership of SDP without jurisdiction. Those pronouncements pertaining to Prof Sadiq Abubakar Gombe and SDP leadership is also set aside.
“That the Court of Appeal should not have disturbed the judgement of the Trial Court.
The Supreme Court therefore dismissed the suit ab initio for lack of locus standi as held by the Federal High Court and sets aside all the parts of the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered on 27th March 2027.
Supreme Court voids appeal court judgment on Ekiti SDP guber primary election
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