The expelled national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP),Shehu Gabam, has rejected the party’s decision to remove him and accused a rival faction of staging “kangaroo” meetings and manufacturing an “artificially induced” crisis to seize control of the party.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News on Friday, Gabam insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognises the National Working Committee (NWC) elected at the SDP convention and said the accusations against him were politically motivated. He also denied allegations of financial misconduct, saying no proper police inquiry has produced evidence and that internal committees set up by his opponents did not call or interrogate him.
Gabam’s full, corrected remarks to Arise News are reproduced below.
“SDP is undergoing a lot of surgery and a little deliberate infusion to create crisis within the party that have been built over decades. Historically, I think I’m the only chairman that was able to get people elected into the Senate, House of Representatives, state assemblies, local government and councillors. So I’ve created that history; nobody will take it away.
“And then of course, in order to summarise, you have almost two factions of SDP right now. There’s a faction headed by Comrade Modibo. They said they organised a NEC meeting and expelled and dissolved the NWC as a whole.
“And of course, including Dr. Olum, they have suspended him from the party. That was also a battle of his own that led to court issues. They are now battling in the court. I’m not involved in that. It was their group that split into two.
“Secondly, I wasn’t in the country when the commissioner of police wrote to INEC seeking to know the authentic leadership of the party produced by convention. I wasn’t in the country. And of course, INEC responded by replying to the Nigerian Police with a certified true copy of the people that were elected at the convention at the International Conference Centre in 2022. The list is there — a stamped, certified true copy from INEC — and there was no name of all those who preside over the so-called meeting expelling or suspending anyone.
“Sadiq’s name was not there. As chairman, I have not — he’s not a member of the party; his name is not in INEC. His state also wrote that he’s not a member of the party. They had a kangaroo kind of meeting and smuggled them in. INEC’s correspondence also justified that. I’m sure you have the document where INEC said that he didn’t follow the process, so he is not recognised by law.
“You must be a thorough investigative journalist. This same allegation — the national secretary wrote a petition to the Inspector-General of Police on the financial embezzlement. The police invited him to go and substantiate his allegations. The police have not come out with the reports. Now they came and established their own kangaroo committee of friends to do a fact-finding outside writing officially to the Nigerian Police Force that are statutorily entitled to investigate financial misappropriation. Does it make sense? And if they set up a committee, who interrogated me within the committee?
“I was never called — not for one second. And now you need to find out from the police whether they’re investigating this case or not, who wrote the petition. That aside, I wrote my own petition to the police. My life was threatened. People came with AK-47s to assassinate me. It’s a very terrible situation that we went through. I chose to keep quiet because I did not want to drag SDP into mess. This is the platform that we’re protecting.
“So those who don’t understand where we’re coming from can sit down and build up allegations servicing the interest of other people because of political reasons.
“What is going on in that context? I think I’ve explained that before when you hosted me here, but let me say it again. There is no party that is standing on its feet today in Nigeria, apart from APC, the ruling party. No party. Now, SDP came from so many fronts. One is the front of the coalition when the coalition approached us — that’s the ADC coalition. The ADC coalition. But at the time it was the opposition coalition. It wasn’t ADC then. Right. We had conversations and we presented our situation based on the SDP constitution. It has to tally with that to avoid litigations. And of course, there is a statement based on what they want. And then we cannot force someone to step down from his seat and order a person to take over without following the process.
“So that was a statement there. And of course, there were business allegations that money exchanged hands. And I challenge anyone, anyone, anyone to publish where money have exchanged hands. They were saying it before. When I challenged them, they couldn’t produce anyone. I’m not a property for sale or a person for sale.
“You know, when you hear people talking about financial things, they have massive conflict; they need to watch themselves from it. Some of us were trained by career politicians. We are trained to build institutions. So on the other side, we are accommodating people that are very unfriendly to their policy. So of course, they are not happy again. And all who is the target is me. I’m the one accommodating all such kind of things. But in all this, posterity will judge because every opposing view we have presented on this government is based on a very civilised and humble way of making observations and advice to the government.
“We will never — or I will never — be part of pulling down any government because nobody knows the consequences. I’ve always said this. And I have no personal grudges with the president whatsoever. I don’t have any. I’ve never had any disagreement with him. Even at the point he wanted to join SDP, where there was a crisis in APC, we had a conversation — very mature, very civilised conversation. He had his way in APC. From that period to now, I have never spoken to the president, not seen the president or received a message from the president. So those who are manufacturing these lies are people who are complex, who have no confidence in themselves. I have full confidence in what I write.
“We wrote so many letters to the Inspector-General of Police, to the commissioner of police; police pick interest in SDP. The former commissioner of police sent police into our secretariat and they decide who enters and who doesn’t enter. At a point there are clashes and fights within the party secretariat. As an experienced politician, there’s no doubt anything can be trapped and can be pushed on your head. I use my senses.
This talk that they are bringing — they will end up fighting and killing anybody. And then there’ll be that the chairman’s in the office; somebody was killing at the SDP secretariat. For that reason I allowed those who are manufacturing crisis to exhaust all the means they have. And then without me creating an opportunity for them to blackmail me or otherwise, as I’m talking to you, the police have seized the SDP secretariat and they have a list of those who they allow in and they allow out.
“I have written several letters. I’ve seen the commissioner, the former commissioner of police, but I understand that he has interest. I wish he would have retired from the police and joined SDP because he’s dealing with one of the factions who for whatever reason are supporting them. But it’s documented. We wrote to him severally and I had a conversation with him. He told me that he’s trying to sort it out.
“But for him to write to INEC seeking to know the leadership of the party and INEC reply him, now there’s an act of impersonation. Why shouldn’t he prosecute them?
“It is not in my interest to bring SDP down. But anybody who will tarnish my name, I will take it to any length that is humanly possible. I will not do anything to bring down the party. I want Nigerians to know SDP: I did not ignite this crisis. I did not push for it. Up to now, I’m applying maturity in dealing with the issue. But history is recording those who pushed for the crisis, who ignited the crisis. And then, of course, for the man who is behind the crisis, I wasn’t the one who charged him for forgery. I wasn’t the one who charged Dr. Olum for forgery; it was the federal government. So it doesn’t make any sense. He’s facing his forgery case. There’s nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with SDP.”
The dispute has spilled into the courts and escalated into physical clashes at the party secretariat, with both camps claiming legitimacy. Gabam says he is conducting consultations and will take all necessary steps to defend his name and the party’s unity.
Boluwatife Enome
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