The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Alhaji Shehu Gabam, has dismissed reports of his suspension as “fake news” and political mischief.
Speaking to journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, Gabam insisted he remains the legitimate chairman.
The controversy arose after the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Ayegbeni, issued a statement announcing Gabam’s suspension alongside two other National Executive Committee members over alleged financial mismanagement.
“I remain the national chairman of the SDP as you can see,” Gabam declared, flanked by members of the National Working Committee. He challenged the validity of the suspension, stating: “There was no official meeting of the NWC where the decision regarding my suspension was taken.”
Gabam revealed that a private legal firm had earlier approached the Independent National Electoral Commission to notify it of an NWC meeting, using a letter signed only by National Secretary Dr. Olu Agunloye.
“INEC tagged the request by the party’s national secretary to hold the NWC meeting as illegal, since the letter was not signed by me,” he explained. “They used a legal firm to communicate with INEC, which is a complete violation of the process of political party in terms of communication with INEC.”
The chairman dismissed the financial misconduct allegations as baseless, daring his accusers to produce evidence.
“They will see everyone that money has gone into his account. All the NWC members. It has not excluded anybody,” Gabam stated, promising full accountability for his tenure.
He accused a new political coalition of orchestrating the crisis after failing to take control of the party.
“Some…believe that at all costs, they either get SDP or create confusion around SDP,” Gabam alleged. “We have been waiting for them to expose all their game plan…Happily enough, they have officially exposed themselves today.”
The embattled chairman called on President Bola Tinubu to prevent security agencies from being used as political tools, warning: “They are not doing disservice to me…It’s a disservice to the country.”
In his suspension announcement, Ayegbeni stated the action was to allow for investigations, with Deputy National Chairman Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar assuming interim leadership. However, Gabam maintains the suspension lacks constitutional validity.
