CRISIS rocking the opposition Social Democratic Party, SDP, has taken another turn as the suspended National Chairman of the party, Shehu Gabam, has debunked his suspension from office, describing it as “fake news” which should be disregarded.
Speaking on Tuesday at the party’s National Secretariat over his purported suspension, Gabam said, “I remain the national Chairman of the SDP as you can see.”
Gabam accused the new coalition and some national officials of the party of being responsible for the crisis in the SDP. He explained that there was no official meeting of the party’s NWC where such a decision was taken and wondered where the statement emanated from.
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According to him, a private legal firm had earlier approached the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and requested a meeting of the party’s NWC which was signed by the National Secretary of the Party, Dr Olu Agunloye, which the Commission allegedly rejected.
He said, ”The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) tagged the request by the party’s National Secretary to hold a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting illegal since it wasn’t having my signature.”
Gabam, who lamented that the crisis in the SDP was being masterminded by the coalition that wanted to destroy the party since they couldn’t have it, said, “I think we had this crisis before. It is now rearing its head. 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 manoeuvre over.”
He, however, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to call the nation’s security agencies to order so that politicians would not use them to truncate democracy, saying, ”This is very, very dangerous for our democracy. Anytime we have leaders who 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 disservice to me. They are not doing disservice to this party. It’s a disservice to the country.”
Gabam who noted that those accusing him of financial misappropriation should remember that they’re the ones who raised memos and that all their names were in the party’s account statement, said, ”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.
“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.
Speaking on the letter of request written by the group to the INEC, he said, ”They used a legal firm to communicate to the INEC. Which is a complete violation of the process of political party 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.”
Earlier in the day, the National Working Committee, NWC of SDP, suspended Gabam over alleged grave allegations of gross financial misconduct, embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of party funds.
The SDP also suspended two members of the NWC namely: Nnadi Clarkson, National Auditor, and Uchechukwu Chukwuma, National Youth Leader, over the same alleged offences.
According to a statement on Tuesday by SDP National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, the decision followed a resolution of a meeting of the NWC, where overwhelming evidence was presented linking the suspended officials to a series of unauthorised financial transactions, personal enrichment schemes, and movement of funds from the party’s accounts without necessary approvals of the NWC.
The statement was titled, “The National Working Committee of the SDP Suspends Alhaji Shehu Gabam as National Chairman and two members of NWC Over Allegations of Gross Financial Misconduct”
The statement read, “In exercise of its exclusive powers as guaranteed in Article 19.1; 19.3(i) and 19.5 of the Party Constitution (2022 as Ammended), 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.
“The decision followed a resolution of a meeting of the National Working Commitee (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 of the NWC.
“The action of the NWC to suspend the National Chairman and two members of the NWC involved in the gross financial misconduct is to demonstrate to the general public that the Party, generally esteemed by Nigerians as a disciplined party and a credible alternative political plaform 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 read.
“An interim investigative panel has been constituted to audit all 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 misappropriated funds amount to hundreds of millions of naira, including donations and resources realised from the sales of nomination forms in the 2023 general elections and other funds from the party accounts.
“The suspension has been communicated to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), and all relevant anti-graft agencies and security agencies have been formally notified.
“The suspension of Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, Nze Nnadi Clarkson, and Uchechukwu Chukwuma take immediate effect.
“The general public is hereby requested to be appropriately guided by the development.”
Vanguard
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