By Samson Obande,  Lafia

A legal practitioner, Obere A. Kana, Esq., has said the Social Democratic Party, SDP, gubernatorial primary election held in Nasarawa State on 5th September 2026 violated provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and is therefore null and void.

In a statement issued in Keffi, Kana, who is also an associate of Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, argued that the party breached Sections 33 and 82(1) of the Electoral Act in the conduct of the primary.

According to him, the SDP had earlier submitted the name of Musa Adamu Angba to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as its gubernatorial candidate in line with Section 29(1) of the Act. INEC subsequently published Angba’s particulars on 29th August 2026, in compliance with Section 29(3).

However, Kana noted that Angba had withdrawn his candidature via an affidavit sworn to before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on 10th June 2026, in favour of Mohammed Abubakar Adamu.

Citing Section 33 of the Electoral Act, he said a party whose candidate withdraws _“shall, within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, hold another primary election to produce and submit a new candidate.”_ 

He said with 87 days between the withdrawal on 10th June and the primary on 5th September, the SDP violated the 14-day statutory window, rendering the exercise _“null and void ab initio.”_

The legal practitioner also faulted the party for violating Section 82(1), which mandates political parties to give INEC at least 21 days’ notice before any primary.

He stated that the SDP’s notice, dated 24th August 2026, for a primary scheduled for 5th September 2026, gave only 13 days’ notice.

Quoting Section 82(6), Kana said: _“Failure of a political party to notify the Commission… shall render the primaries… invalid.”_ He added that Section 88(3) further bars such a party’s candidate from contesting.

“There are various precedents decided by superior courts on this,” he said, adding that based on the circumstances, the legality of the SDP and its candidate remains in doubt.