The Forum of Social Democratic Party (SDP) State Chairmen on Friday said they support the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Shehu Gabam. They described the move as an important step to bring discipline and restore order within the party.
At a press briefing held in Abuja, the Forum Chairman, Femi Olaniyi, who spoke on behalf of the 36 state chairmen, noted that the party is not facing any internal crisis. He said what is happening should be seen as a clean-up process meant to protect the party’s values of honesty and fairness in leadership.
“There is no crisis within the SDP. What we are doing is internal cleansing, not internal crisis. We cannot point fingers at the ruling government’s corruption while turning a blind eye to misconduct within our own ranks,” Olaniyi declared.
Olaniyi stated that the forum stands behind the National Working Committee’s decision to suspend Gabam, alongside National Auditor Clarkson Nnadi and National Youth Leader Ogbonna Chukwuma. He noted that this action followed serious concerns about how funds were being managed, how decisions were made, and how some party rules were being ignored.
According to him, many state chapters have long complained about not being involved in how the party’s funds were used. They accused Gabam of keeping the money at the national level and cutting the states out of their rightful share as stated in the party’s constitution.
“No state chapter has received a dime from the funds raised. Every time we asked for our constitutionally mandated share, we were met with threats of suspension or removal. It’s the classic case of ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop,’” he alleged.
The chairmen also pointed out that since Gabam became chairman, no National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting had been held. They noted this is against the rules in the party’s constitution and called for an urgent meeting to be held.
“We urge the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary to act swiftly by calling for a NEC meeting, which is long overdue. This is a matter of restoring constitutional order and not about political ambition or 2027 power play,” Olaniyi declared.
