The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alhaji Shehu Gabam, has dismissed reports of his suspension, describing them as politically motivated falsehoods aimed at destabilising the party.
Addressing journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, Gabam firmly stated that he remains the legitimate national chairman of the SDP.
“I remain the National Chairman of the SDP, as you can see.
The public should disregard the so-called suspension—it’s fake news,” he said while flanked by several members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
His response came after the SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, issued a statement announcing Gabam’s suspension along with two other NEC members over allegations of financial mismanagement.
Gabam, however, countered the claim, stating that no formal NWC meeting was held to authorise any suspension.
He questioned the legitimacy of the statement, noting that decisions of such magnitude must follow due process.
He recalled that a private law firm had earlier contacted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a letter about a proposed NWC meeting.
The letter, signed only by the party’s National Secretary, Dr. Olu Agunloye, was rejected by INEC for lacking the chairman’s co-signature.
“They used a private legal firm to write INEC, which is a clear violation of protocol.
INEC requires any formal communication to be jointly signed by the national chairman and secretary,” Gabam said.
He further stressed that his signature remains authoritative as stipulated in the party’s constitution, which designates the national chairman as both the party leader and chief executive officer.
Addressing the allegations of financial misappropriation, Gabam declared them baseless and politically motivated.
He assured that all party financial records would be made available to relevant security agencies.
“Every NWC member’s name is on the party’s account statement.
I have nothing to hide. Once we present the full account printout to the authorities, it will become clear who received what,” he stated.
Gabam also called attention to a brewing internal coalition, which he accused of attempting to hijack the party by creating unrest.
“We’ve seen this crisis before.
Certain individuals, working with some national officers and external forces, are trying to gain control of the SDP or at least create confusion within it,” he said.
He claimed the party’s growing influence was intimidating to many political actors, prompting what he called coordinated efforts to derail it.
“These forces view the SDP as a serious threat they can’t manipulate.
Today, they’ve exposed their agenda, and Nigerians will soon come to know them for who they are—anti-democratic elements bent on disrupting political institutions for selfish interests,” he said.
Gabam appealed to President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the country’s security agencies are not used as tools in political witch-hunts.
“This isn’t just an attack on me or the SDP—it’s a disservice to the entire country.
Security agencies should not be weaponised to undermine democracy,” he warned.
Meanwhile, in the statement released earlier, Aiyenigba said Gabam’s suspension, along with other implicated officials, was intended to allow for an impartial investigation. He added that Deputy National Chairman Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar had been appointed to assume interim leadership of the party.