The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has said a court has affirmed its governorship candidate, describing the ruling as another legal victory that reinforces the party’s internal decisions and clears the way for its preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at a press briefing at the SDP National Secretariat, in Abuja, on Wednesday, the National Chairman of the party, Dr Sadiq Abubakar Gombe, said the party had successfully concluded its national convention, conducted primaries and submitted the names of its candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in line with the electoral timetable.
According to him, the party has already uploaded its presidential candidate, National Assembly candidates and governorship candidates for the 28 states where governorship elections will hold in 2027, while the submission of candidates for the 1,015 State Assembly constituencies is ongoing.
He said the SDP was the first political party to conduct its national convention ahead of the 2027 elections, where Dr Adewole Adebayo emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
“We were the first political party in Nigeria to hold our convention and elect our presidential candidate. We also successfully uploaded our presidential candidate, National Assembly candidates and governorship candidates within the timelines provided by INEC,” Musa said.
The SDP chairman said the National Working Committee (NWC) elected at the convention remains the only leadership recognised by both the party and INEC.
He maintained that political parties have constitutional powers to manage their internal affairs without interference from the courts, adding that the party’s decisions taken at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and convention had been validly ratified.
Musa said recent court decisions affirming the party’s governorship candidate further strengthened the SDP’s confidence in its legal position.
He also alleged that attempts by an expelled former national chairman to challenge the party’s decisions through the courts had failed to alter the party’s recognised leadership.
According to him, the Supreme Court had earlier upheld the SDP’s internal processes and directed INEC to recognise decisions taken by the party’s National Working Committee.
“The Supreme Court ruled that all the internal processes we followed were in line with the SDP Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he stated.
Musa further disclosed that INEC had confirmed to the party’s bankers that the recognised signatories to the SDP’s accounts are the current national chairman, national secretary, national treasurer and financial secretary.
He alleged that financial investigations uncovered questionable transactions running into hundreds of millions of naira under the previous leadership, adding that petitions had already been submitted to the Nigeria Police Force and INEC for investigation.
“We are not going to leave any stone unturned to ensure that anyone found culpable faces the consequences of their actions. Nigerians deserve a political party built on accountability and transparency,” he said.
The SDP chairman insisted that the party remained united despite internal challenges and expressed confidence that it would present credible candidates for the presidency, governorships, National Assembly and State Assembly elections in 2027.
“We are set to provide Nigerians with the credible alternative they are yearning for. Across all elective offices, we have worked to present candidates with the capacity, character and commitment to deliver good governance,” Musa added.
He also urged politicians to resolve disputes within their parties instead of defecting whenever disagreements arise, saying the SDP had demonstrated that internal disagreements could be settled through lawful and constitutional processes.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to participating fully in the 2027 general elections, expressing confidence that its legal victories and organisational preparations had positioned it strongly for the polls.
