Shehu Gabam Vows to Remain National Chairman of SDP Despite Expulsion

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is currently facing a deep-seated leadership crisis as the party’s former National Chairman, Shehu Gabam, has vehemently rejected his expulsion, insisting that he remains the legitimate leader of the political platform. Gabam, who was reportedly expelled on Thursday, October 23, 2025, has publicly condemned the action as an illegal and unconstitutional attempt to destabilise the party.

Dependable NG reports that in a statement released in Abuja on Friday by his Special Assistant (Legal), Abubakar Baba, the embattled SDP chieftain emphatically dismissed his reported removal as “illegal, null, and void.” He described the move as a desperate effort by a group of impostors to sow discord and illegitimacy within the party’s ranks, stressing that the purported expulsion holds no consequence.

The expulsion of Gabam, the National Youth Leader, Dr. Ogbonna Uchechukwu, and several other officials was announced following a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja. However, in his rebuttal, Gabam declared, “the said meeting is illegal, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.”

He then invoked Article 13 (iv) of the SDP Constitution, which explicitly grants the National Chairman the sole authority to preside over meetings of the National Convention, National Executive Committee (NEC), National Working Committee (NWC), and National Caucus. He insisted, “I remain the national chairman of the SDP. Any meeting convened or presided over without the consent of the duly recognised chairman constitutes a gross violation of its constitution and a brazen attempt to usurp legitimate authority.”

Furthermore, Gabam criticized the National Secretary, Olu Agunloye, for allegedly attempting to communicate the decisions of the illegal meeting to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Gabam’s camp views this action as a clear breach of Part 2 (12) 3 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022, further strengthening their argument that the entire process of his expulsion is fundamentally flawed and unconstitutional. The ongoing tussle highlights the deepening internal divisions threatening the cohesion of the Social Democratic Party.