Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has suspended the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam; the National Auditor, Nze Nnadi Clarkson, and the National Youth Leader, Uchechukwu Chukwuma.

Meanwhile, Gabam has debunked his purported suspension by the party, saying it is fake and blames the new coalition for the current crisis in his party.

A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, said the suspension followed a resolution of a meeting of the NWC, where overwhelming evidences were presented linking the suspended officials to a series of unauthorized financial transactions, personal enrichment schemes, and movement of funds from the party’s accounts without necessary approvals by the NWC.

Part of the statement read: “In exercise of its exclusive powers as guaranteed in Article 19.1, 19.3(i) and 19.5 of the party’s constitution (2022 as Amended), the National Working Committee  (NWC) of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has approved the immediate suspension of the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, along with two members of the National Working Committee (NWC), namely Nze Nnadi Clarkson, National Auditor, and Uchechukwu Chukwuma, National Youth Leader, over grave allegations of gross financial misconduct, embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of party funds.”

According to the statement, the NWC’s action to suspend the trio was to demonstrate to Nigerians that the party, generally seen as a disciplined party and a credible alternative political platform for national redemption, has zero tolerance for corruption and abuse of office.

“The decision to suspend the national chairman and other implicated NWC members is to allow for a thorough investigation. Our integrity as a political party must be upheld at all times,” the statement also read.

The statement noted that an interim investigative panel had been constituted to audit all the party’s financial records and recommend further disciplinary or legal actions.

“In the interim, the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar, has been directed to assume leadership of the party pending the outcome of the investigations,” the statement added.

The statement equally revealed that the misappropriated funds amounted to hundreds of millions of naira, including donations and resources realised from the sales of nomination forms in the 2023 general election and other funds from the party accounts.

“The suspension has been communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and all relevant anti-graft and security agencies have been formally notified.

“The suspension takes immediate effect. The general public is hereby requested to be appropriately guided by the development,” the statement submitted.

Meanwhile, Gabam has debunked his purported suspension, saying it is fake and blames the new coalition for the current crisis in his party.

He made the claim in his office at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, while hosting some of the party’s NWC members who were in his office.

Reacting to his purported suspension, he said: “I remain the national chairman of the SDP as you can see.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) tagged the request by the party’s National Secretary to hold a National Working Committee (NWC)  meeting as illegal since it didn’t have my signature.”

He also claimed that the crisis in the SDP are masterminded by the coalition who wants to destroy the party since they can’t have it. 

“I think we had this crisis before. It is now rearing its head. And some of us understand where it is coming from.

“Because this coalition and some of the people in the coalition who believe that at all costs, they either get SDP or create confusion around SDP. So many forces from so many fronts see SDP as very, very deadly. Or very, very strong that they cannot maneuver over.”

He called on President Bola Tinubu to call the security agencies to order so that politicians would not use them to truncate democracy.

“This is very, very dangerous for our democracy. Anytime we have leaders that don’t want to accommodate a dissenting voice, then the country is gone. Democracy will disappear.

“We hope and I pray the president and commander-in-chief will not allow this kind of anarchy to continue. He will call people to order. Security agencies that somehow remotely are being used to support this kind of thing.

“They are not doing me a disservice. They are not doing disservice to this party. It’s a disservice to the country,” he said.

He also noted that those who are accusing him of financial misappropriation should remember that they’re the one ones who raise memos and that all their names are in the party’s account statement.

“And I’m sure by the time we submit the complete printout of our account from the banks to the security agencies, they will see everything. They will see everyone that money has gone into his account. Everyone. All the NWC members. It has not excluded anybody.

“He was once the chairman of the party. He should have also accounted for his own tenure when he was chairman of the party. I’m ready to account for my tenure any minute, any time,” Gabam added 

“We expected this crisis for quite a while. First, we’ve been waiting for them to expose all their game plan, before we respond to it. Happily enough, they have officially exposed themselves today.

“And I’m sure Nigerians will get to know them, who are anti-democratic forces? Who are conniving to disrupt political institutions, for whatever motivation? But I want to assure you that we are on. 

“The letter you are talking about, they used a legal firm to communicate to the INEC. Which is a complete violation of the process of political parties in terms of communication with INEC.

“And if you look at the INEC letters, it specifies that any decision has to be jointly signed by the national chairman and national secretary. My signature is an authority signature. By our constitution, the national chairman is the national leader of the party and chief executive of the party,” Gabam said.