The attention of the Social Democratic Party SDP has long been drawn to the foot dragging , non response and inaction of the independent National Electoral Commission to issue a statement compliance with several glaring court judgements on the leadership status of the party.
For months, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has watched with deepening concern as INEC has failed to issue a formal statement acknowledging and complying with multiple clear and unambiguous court judgments on the authentic leadership of our party. These verdicts , delivered by both the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court , have resolved all contentious issues. The courts have unequivocally conferred legitimacy on the leadership of Alhaji Shehu Gabam, a position firmly anchored on the party’s national convention, which INEC itself duly certified.
SDP is not an ordinary political party. We are a historic bastion of Nigerian democracy, built on the unshakable principles of due process, rule of law, and constitutional order.
We respectfully call on the Commission, under the leadership of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, to act in strict compliance with the subsisting judgments of the competent courts, including the relevant decisions of the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court, which affirm the legitimacy of the leadership of Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam. These judicial pronouncements are further reinforced by the Commission's certification and monitoring of the Party's National Convention, from which the present leadership derives its democratic mandate.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), guarantees the supremacy of the rule of law and obligates all authorities and institutions to respect and enforce the decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction. Administrative delay cannot override judicial finality, nor can silence diminish the binding force of lawful judgments.
The law is clear. Court judgments are not suggestions; they are binding obligations. Continued delay or foot-dragging by INEC does not merely create administrative inconvenience, it directly threatens democratic stability, erodes public confidence in the electoral umpire, and sends a dangerous signal that court rulings can be selectively obeyed.
We therefore call on Professor Amupitan and the entire leadership of INEC to immediately do what is right, lawful, and expected: issue the necessary statement recognizing the leadership of Alhaji Shehu Gabam in line with the subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court.
The eyes of teeming SDP members, supporters across the country, democratic institutions, and well-meaning Nigerians are fixed on INEC. History will remember how this institution chooses to act at this critical moment.
Democracy dies not always in loud confrontation, but sometimes in quiet inaction. Today, INEC has the opportunity to prove that it remains an impartial guardian of democracy, not an obstacle to it.
We expect prompt and decisive action.
Zakari Nadabo
National Publicity Secretary, Social Democratic Party (SDP)
