Supreme Court Throws Out SDP Appeal
The Supreme Court in Abuja on Friday dismissed an appeal challenging the Social Democratic Party governorship primary in Ekiti State.
The case was filed by Fayemi Tosin Babatunde, who questioned the validity of the party’s process for selecting its candidate.
The apex court ruled that the appellant lacked the legal standing to bring the case before it.
It held that Babatunde was not recognised as an aspirant in the primary since he did not complete the required screening and clearance process within the party.
The court agreed with earlier decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which found that mere purchase of nomination forms was not enough to qualify a person as an aspirant.
It said only those properly cleared and involved in the party’s nomination process could challenge primary election outcomes.
With the ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and struck out related cases linked to the dispute.
It also affirmed that lower courts acted outside their jurisdiction on some aspects of the matter while closing the legal challenge over the SDP Ekiti primary.
