The social democratic Party (SDP) has maintained that its national chairman is Dr Sadiq Abubakar Gombe, saying that no court has removed him.
A statement on Thursday by the National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, reiterated that “the deliberate spread of falsehood and distortion of facts of the pronouncements of the Court of Appeal by Shehu Musa Gabam does him no good.”
The statement further stated, “the expelled National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, who has become part of our documented past, is in a delusional state of mind, considering that the reality has dawned on him that his hope of saving his political career via a return to his former position in the party has evaporated.”
“No Court has removed Prof Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe as the National Chairman of Social Democratic Party. He is the legitimate Chairman of the SDP as affirmed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
“There are no court cases about leadership issues in SDP but court cases about recent primaries in Ekiti and Osun states relating to aspirants with grievances with the processes.
“In the suit CA/ABJ/CV/126/2026 filed by aggrieved Ekiti SDP Aspirant, Mr. Babatunde Tosin Fayemi, whose judgment was delivered by Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike at the Court of Appeal on 27 March 2026, and released yesterday, it was entirely about Ekiti Primaries and not about SDP leadership.
“The former Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, is not part of the suit and was not mentioned once in the suit or in the judgment.
“Nowhere in the judgment was the expelled Chairman referred to as SDP Chairman. What the judgment simply stated is that the Trial Court ought not to have delved into leadership matter in a pre-election matter.
“The suit in question was about the recently concluded Ekiti State Governorship primary election, to which Alhaji Shehu Gabam is a total stranger. Gabam’s later application to join the suit was dismissed by the court.
“Apart from dismissing the cases of the plaintiffs, what the court held, was that the courts have no jurisdiction to determine the leadership of political parties and that leadership matter of a political party is an internal affair of the party, and no Court of law has jurisdiction over it.
“As a matter of fact, Shehu Musa Gabam is no longer a member of the Social Democratic Party, having been duly expelled from the SDP, and the expulsion was formally ratified by the NEC of the party on March 9, 2026, having being earlier suspended on 24 June 2025, for gross financial misappropriation and malfeasance, investigated by a duly constituted Panel of Enquiry, and found guilty and reported to the Police.
“He was later expelled from the Party on 23 October 2025, and his expulsion was ratified by the Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) at its meeting of 9 March 2026, which was monitored by INEC Team.
“The SDP will not join issues with an expelled member, more so, considering that Shehu Musa Gabam is facing criminal proceedings for his misappropriation of our party’s funds and for gross abuse of office
“Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe continues in office as National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party.
“The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Party assures all member, stakeholders across the country and the general public, that they need not bother with the development or be worried, as the party remains stable and strongly on course.”
