The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Fayemi Tosin Babatunde, challenging the outcome of the party’s governorship primary election in Ekiti State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Okoro, upheld the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which held that Babatunde lacked the legal standing to institute the suit because he was not an aspirant in the party’s primary election.
The lead judgment in the appeal marked SC/CV/299/2026 was prepared and delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur. The court ruled that Babatunde failed to meet the legal requirements necessary to qualify as an aspirant under the Electoral Act.
According to the judgment, the appellant did not participate fully in the nomination process of the party, particularly the mandatory screening and clearance procedures conducted by the SDP’s appropriate organs.
Justice Mohammed Garba, in his contribution to the judgment, held that Babatunde lacked the locus standi to challenge the conduct and outcome of the governorship primary because he was never formally recognised as an aspirant.
The court stressed that merely purchasing expression of interest and nomination forms does not automatically confer aspirant status under Nigerian electoral law.
Justice Garba stated: “Having failed to show that he was screened and cleared by the party’s appropriate organ to participate in the primary, the appellant cannot be heard to claim to be an aspirant.
“The appellant failed to establish that he attained the status of an aspirant within the contemplation of the electoral law.
“The mere purchase of nomination form, without undergoing the other mandatory processes, does not qualify one as an aspirant in the face of the law.”
The apex court further held that the Federal High Court should not have proceeded to determine other issues raised in the suit after finding that it lacked jurisdiction.
Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction, affirmed the March 27 judgment of the Court of Appeal on jurisdictional grounds, and struck out the originating summons filed by Babatunde before the Federal High Court.
The judgment is also expected to apply to five related appeals arising from the same dispute. The affected appeals include SC/CV/228/2026 filed by Comrade Ayotunde Solomon; SC/CV/239/2026 and SC/CV/240/2026 filed by the SDP; as well as SC/CV/242/2026 and SC/CV/244/2026 filed by Ambassador Isaac Adebayo Alade.
In its earlier March 27 judgment, the Court of Appeal had partly allowed Babatunde’s appeal against the January 19 decision of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Delivering the lead judgment at the appellate court, Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit because Babatunde was not an aspirant and therefore lacked the legal capacity to challenge the outcome of the SDP primary.
Justice Nyesom-Wike faulted the lower court for proceeding beyond the issue of jurisdiction after determining that the appellant was not an aspirant.
“The court below merely held that the appellant was not an aspirant. The court did not do the next thing expected of it, which is to decline jurisdiction and strike the suit out,” she said.
The appellate court also ruled that some of the issues raised by Babatunde bordered on the internal leadership crisis within the SDP, which the court lacked jurisdiction to determine.
Justice Nyesom-Wike consequently set aside portions of the Federal High Court judgment relating to the legitimacy of the party leadership and the validity of the governorship primary conducted on November 8, 2025.
She further declined to declare that the SDP lacked a valid governorship candidate for the Ekiti election, noting that all affected parties, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the declared winner of the primary, were not parties before the court.
Babatunde had challenged the legitimacy of the SDP National Working Committee led by Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe and Dr. Olu Agunloye, alleging that the leadership structure was illegally constituted.
He also accused the party leadership of violating the SDP constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act in the conduct of the Ekiti governorship primary and sought orders nullifying the exercise.
