The crisis rocking the Social Democratic Party (SDP) took another dimension on Saturday as the party hierarchy dismissed as false and misleading reports claiming the appointment of Senator Ugochukwu Uba and Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Gombe as Deputy National Chairmen (South and North respectively).

Describing the reports as false, mischievous, and politically motivated, the party insisted that neither Uba nor Gombe is a registered member of the SDP, and therefore ineligible for any position within the National Working Committee (NWC).

In separate statements issued by the party’s South East leadership and its Gombe State chapter, the SDP said no such appointments were ever made or discussed by the NWC.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, on Friday had announced the appointments of Uba and Gombe, saying the appointments were made in accordance with the SDP Constitution and the mandate given to the NWC by the National Convention.

The Guardian learnt that Aiyenigba issued the statement without the authorisation or prior knowledge of the party’s leadership.

The SDP which is being projected as the party of choice for the opposition coalition movement as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party have been weighed down by series of crisis.

Uba, who Aiyenigba announced as the deputy national chairman, South, served as the Director-General and later Honourable Commissioner in Anambra State during the SDP administration of the late Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife in 1992.

Abubakar served as the SDP’s pioneer National Secretary from 2010 to 2015 and was the party’s Governorship Candidate in Gombe State in 2011.

But SDP National Vice Chairman (South East), Chief Arinze Ekelem, in a statement made available to journalists, on Saturday, said the purported appointment of Senator Uba was false, misleading and never happened.

He added that no such appointment was discussed or approved at the NWC meeting held on May 15, 2025, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

“We wish to state categorically and for the avoidance of doubt that Senator Ugochukwu Uba is not a card-carrying member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Consequently, any claim regarding his appointment to any leadership position within the party is false, misleading, and does not reflect the resolutions or discussions of the meeting of the NWC,” Ekelem said.

“No such decision was taken at the meeting of the National Working Committee held on 15th May 2025 at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. The alleged appointment is therefore null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.”

Similarly, the Gombe State chapter of the SDP disowned the reported appointment of Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Gombe as Deputy National Chairman (North), stressing that he was not a registered member of the party in any ward, local government, or state chapter.

In a statement issued by the acting state chairman, Comrade Adamu Abubakar Modibbo, the chapter described the viral claims as false, fabricated and politically fraudulent.

“To set the record straight, Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Gombe hails from Jekadafari Ward, Gombe LGA, Gombe State, he is not a registered member of the SDP from his ward or any ward in Nigeria,” Modibbo said.

“Our Database shows that, his name is not recorded in any membership register at the ward, local government, state, or national level.This deceitful action represents a clear assault on the democratic values and internal structures of our great party.”

Reacting to the development, the party’s National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, expressed shock over the false appointments and vowed to investigate those behind what he called an orchestrated attempt to destabilise the party.

Gabam, however, expressed optimism about the party’s future, saying that the SDP remained focused on rebuilding its structures and consolidating its gains from the 2023 general elections.