SDP Chair says INEC portal does not decide party leadership.

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Gombe, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), responded yesterday to efforts that sought to use the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) online portal to settle internal party leadership disputes.

He made it clear that no digital registry operated by the electoral body has the constitutional power to decide who leads a political party in Nigeria.

Gombe spoke to journalists in Abuja immediately after INEC held a consultative meeting with the leaders of registered political parties.

He used the opportunity to draw a firm legal and constitutional boundary between the Commission’s administrative duties and the parties’ sovereign right to manage their own internal affairs.

“The issue is not about the INEC portal. It is about the party itself. The party has organs that regulate its day‑to‑day running,” the SDP chairman said.

He grounded his stance on a series of Supreme Court rulings that consistently hold that intra‑party matters remain beyond INEC’s regulatory reach.

Gombe identified the SDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) as the party’s primary executing body and the sole entity vested with the authority of the National Convention, while the National Working Committee (NWC) manages the day‑to‑day administration of party affairs.

His remarks were specifically aimed at the circumstances surrounding the expulsion of three senior party officials, including Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, whose removal has been at the centre of the SDP’s recent internal turbulence.

Gombe said the expulsions were carried out strictly in accordance with due process, through a properly constituted disciplinary committee that afforded each of the affected officials a full and fair hearing.

According to him, the three officials refused to participate in the disciplinary proceedings and subsequently failed to exercise their rights of appeal within the five working days stipulated under Article 19 of the SDP’s constitution, a lapse he said effectively sealed their fate under the party’s own rules.

“The NWC currently has 11 members after four were disciplined, while the National Auditor resigned and tendered an apology. Three others, including Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, were expelled,” he said.

Gombe expressed particular satisfaction with the stance of the new INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, saying his legal background made him well suited to appreciate and uphold the constitutional boundaries that protect party internal affairs from external regulatory interference.

“We are happy that the INEC chairman reiterated their commitment to the rule of law and respect for parties’ internal affairs. We have good days ahead,” Gombe said.

He also thanked Nigerians and the media for their continued commitment to democracy, good governance and the independence of political parties, describing both as essential pillars of a functioning democratic order.