Supreme Court Ends SDP Leadership Tussle, Dismisses Gabam’s Appeal

By Jude Opara

The leadership crisis rocking the Social Democratic Party (SDP) may have come to an end following the Supreme Court’s dismissal on Wednesday of an appeal filed by former National Chairman, Dr Shehu Gabam, against the Court of Appeal judgment concerning the leadership of the party under Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Gombe.

The judgment was delivered by a five-member panel comprising Justices Adamu Jauro, Haruna Tsammani, A.A. Adumein, Jonah Adah and Joseph Oyewole.

According to Justice Adamu Jauro, the appeal had become irrelevant and was therefore dismissed.

Reacting to the development, the SDP presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, said he was not surprised by the ruling, claiming that the appellant’s case had “no life.”

Adebayo further said the justices asked the appellants to withdraw the appeal and apologise, adding that the judgment had brought an end to the leadership dispute in the SDP.

“The Supreme Court said that there is no life in the case and dismissed it. That is the end of Shehu Gabam. There is nothing about the SDP leadership crisis coming up again,” he said.

The presidential candidate also spoke on two other matters filed by the SDP at the Supreme Court, explaining that the opposition party had taken the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over issues relating to the timetable for the 2027 presidential election.

He said the SDP approached the apex court to challenge what the party described as an alleged abuse of INEC’s powers and to prevent the electoral body from becoming an impediment to opposition parties in Nigeria.

Adebayo added that INEC’s responsibility was to serve democracy and operate in accordance with the law, rather than be used by any ruling party to undermine opposition parties.

“The reason we brought the case to court is not because we, particularly the SDP, are concerned with the modified timetable for the 2027 election. It is to limit the abuse of the electoral process by INEC. INEC’s job is to be a servant of democracy and to follow the law as stated,” he said.

Also reacting, the National Chairman of the SDP, Prof. Gombe, hailed the Supreme Court for what he described as its commitment to upholding democracy.

It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal in August set aside the judgment of Justice M.G. Umar in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026, which had recognised Gabam’s leadership of the SDP, declaring the judgment null and void.