There’s no faction in SDP–Gombe insists

…As INEC confirms party leadership after verification exercise

By Jude Opara

Ahead of the forthcoming 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Tuesday confirmed the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by its acting leader, Prof. Sadiq Gombe.

Gombe who spoke to newsmen shortly after the interface with INEC at the National Secretariait of the SDP also debunked the claims in certain quarters that there is a faction in the party.

He further revealed that the party, with the presence of members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), made up of state chairmen collaborated with the electoral body during the verification exercise.

“We had full representation of our NEC members, including state chairmen from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This demonstrates our unity and compliance with the law,” he said.

The SDP boss added that INEC officials also examined the party’s membership register, both electronic and hard copies, including documentation relating to its headquarters and financial operations.

Prof. Gombe noted that the party has fulfilled all statutory obligations under the Electoral Act, which includes; maintaining offices in at least two-thirds of the states.

“It was an 11-member team of the INEC team that came for the verification exercise at SDP headquarters today (Tuesday). As you are aware, part of the requirements for the registration of a political party is that it must have a presence in at least 2/3 of the states of the federation.

“INEC came to verify the membership of the NEC to see them physically and engage with them as well as the members of the National Working Committee, (NWC)” he stated.

On the alleged presence of a faction in the party, Gombe noted that the Supreme Court on several occasions has delivered judgments that internal disputes are exclusive parties’ affairs.

He emphasized that decisions taken by the party’s NEC remain binding, citing judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which affirm that internal party affairs are the exclusive preserve of political parties. He noted that the current leadership emerged from a duly constituted NEC meeting held in March 2025, which was also my monitored by INEC.

Reacting to issues regarding Senator Ahmed Wadada’s alleged defection to another political party, the National Publicity Secretary, Ambassador Rufus Aiyenigba, said that the party had not received any formal resignation from the senator who was elected on the platform of the SDP.

“As of today, no formal resignation has been communicated to the party. Under Nigerian law, an individual cannot belong to two political parties at the same time. Until the proper process is followed, he remains a member of the SDP.”

Aiyenigba added that the matter is being reviewed by the party’s legal department and that the party will take appropriate action.

Prof. Gombe commended the Zonal and state leaders for their support and commitment, adding that the party’s ongoing membership registration exercise has recorded encouraging participation nationwide.