The embattled National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu <\/strong><\/span>Gabam<\/span><\/strong>, has dismissed reports of his expulsion from the party, describing the action as \u201cillegal, null and void.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Gabam<\/span>, who was expelled on Thursday<\/strong>, October 23, alongside the National Youth Leader, Dr. Ogbonna <\/strong><\/span>Uchechukwu<\/span><\/strong>, and several others, insisted that the move was unconstitutional and orchestrated by impostors seeking to <\/span>destabilise<\/span> the SDP.<\/span><\/p>\n In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by his Special Assistant (Legal), Abubakar Baba, <\/strong><\/span>Gabam<\/span> described the meeting that purportedly expelled him as \u201can illegality that holds no weight under the party\u2019s constitution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Quoting Article 13 (iv) of the SDP Constitution, Baba said the provision empowers only the National Chairman to preside over meetings of the National Convention, National Executive Committee, National Working Committee, and National Caucus of the party.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe said meeting is illegal, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever,\u201d <\/span><\/em>the statement read.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAny meeting convened or presided over without the consent of the duly <\/span>recognised<\/span> chairman constitutes a gross violation of the constitution and a brazen attempt to usurp legitimate authority.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Gabam\u2019s<\/span> camp alleged that the so-called disciplinary meeting was convened without proper authorisation and was spearheaded by individuals not recognised within the party\u2019s structure.<\/span><\/p>\n The statement also criticised the National Secretary, Dr. Olu Agunloye,<\/strong> for allegedly communicating the outcome of the \u201cillegal meeting\u201d to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe action of Dr. Agunloye amounts to a breach of Part 2 (12) 3 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022,<\/em>\u201d Baba stated.<\/span><\/p>\n He said the communication was misleading, as a Certified True Copy (CTC) from INEC still recognised Alhaji Shehu Gabam as the duly elected National Chairman of the SDP.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe purported suspension of the chairman and all other members of the party is null and void and of no effect whatsoever,\u201d<\/em> the statement declared.<\/span><\/p>\n The statement further discredited Sadiq, who was reported to have presided over the expulsion meeting, describing him as \u201cneither a member of the party nor of its National Executive Committee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe general public is hereby advised to disregard the actions of the Dr. Sadiq-led group as they are impostors and will be duly punished by law for their illegal actions,\u201d<\/em> it added.<\/span><\/p>\n Gabam\u2019s faction maintained that the move was politically motivated and designed to undermine his leadership ahead of the party\u2019s next national convention.<\/span><\/p>\n However, in a conflicting position, SDP\u2019s National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, told journalists at the party\u2019s national secretariat that Gabam\u2019s expulsion followed months of investigation and disciplinary proceedings.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe decision was the outcome of careful investigations into allegations of misconduct, financial misappropriation, and abuse of office,\u201d<\/em> Aiyenigba said.<\/span><\/p>\n He maintained that the National Working Committee (NWC) acted within its constitutional powers to sanction erring members and insisted that the move was in line with the party\u2019s disciplinary framework.<\/span><\/p>\n Abia Radio News<\/strong> reports that the fresh controversy has further widened the division within the party. <\/span><\/p>\n While <\/span>Gabam\u2019s<\/span> loyalists have dismissed the expulsion as unconstitutional, state chairmen of the SDP have publicly endorsed the move<\/strong>, citing misconduct and financial mismanagement as grounds for his removal.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, <\/span>Gabam\u2019s<\/span> camp maintains that he remains the lawfully <\/span>recognised<\/span> national chairman, reaffirming his leadership\u2019s commitment to \u201cupholding the rule of law and maintaining internal order.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Alhaji <\/span>Gabam<\/span><\/em> leadership remains focused on building the party and strengthening the nation\u2019s democratic ideals in partnership with loyal members,\u201d<\/em> the statement concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n The latest crisis follows <\/span>Gabam\u2019s<\/span> earlier suspension in June, which he had also described as illegal. <\/span><\/p>\n The renewed power struggle has <\/span>polarised<\/span> the SDP\u2019s National Working Committee and National Executive Council, threatening to derail the party\u2019s preparations for upcoming elections.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a9 2025 Abia Radio News, a division of Tee Global Innovataions. Contact us via [email\u00a0protected]<\/strong><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The embattled National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam, has dismissed reports of his expulsion from the party, describing the action as \u201cillegal, null and void.\u201d Gabam, who was expelled on Thursday, October 23, alongside the National Youth Leader, Dr. Ogbonna Uchechukwu, and several others, insisted that the move was unconstitutional and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":236741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[276,2215],"class_list":["post-236740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-sdp","tag-shehu-gabam"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shehu-Musa-Gabam-715x600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Factional Support Deepens Division<\/span><\/h2>\n