The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to suspend the execution of a Federal High Court judgment that recognised Olaitan Salawu-Adeniyi as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
The party, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, said it had also asked the appellate court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from implementing the June 24, 2026 judgment pending the determination of its appeal.
According to the statement, the appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1011/2026, challenges the judgment delivered by Justice M.G. Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026.
The SDP argued that the Federal High Court directed INEC to enforce an earlier Court of Appeal judgment of March 27, 2026, which recognised Shehu Gabam as the party’s National Chairman, despite the party’s insistence that the Supreme Court had overturned that decision on May 22, 2026.
The party maintained that the High Court’s ruling conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decision and should not be enforced until the appeal is resolved.
According to the statement, the party is seeking an order staying the execution of the judgment as well as an injunction preventing INEC from taking any steps to implement the ruling while the appeal is pending.
The SDP further contended that the appeal raises significant legal issues that require the consideration of the Court of Appeal. It warned that allowing the judgment to be implemented before the appeal is heard could alter the subject matter of the case and render the appeal ineffective if it eventually succeeds.
“The interest of justice would be better served by preserving the existing state of affairs pending the determination of the substantive appeal,” the application stated.
The party explained that the dispute stemmed from its Osun State governorship primary involving Olaitan Salawu-Adeniyi, Shehu Gabam and former National Youth Leader Ogbonna Okechukwu, whom it described as non-members of the party.
The respondents listed in the appeal are Olaitan Salawu-Adeniyi, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Shehu Gabam and former National Youth Leader Uchechukwu Chukwuma.