Crisis Seeps Into SDP as National Leadership Raises Fresh Alarm

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is facing fresh internal tensions, as its national leadership has dismissed claims of newly appointed officials into its National Working Committee (NWC), labelling them false and unauthorized.

This development comes amid ongoing leadership crises within other major opposition parties, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party.

The controversy began when SDP National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, reportedly announced the appointment of Senator Ugochukwu Uba as Deputy National Chairman (South), Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar as Deputy National Chairman (North), and Mr. Hussaini Ado Bello as National Financial Secretary.

However, denying the appointments during a press briefing held in Abuja on Friday, SDP National Chairman, Shehu Gabam, represented by Deputy National Secretary, Muhammad Biu, insisted that no such appointments had been approved by the party’s leadership.

“The attention of the National Leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has been drawn to a number of misleading media reports,” Biu stated, “claiming that three new appointments have been made into the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).”

He clarified that “no such appointments have been made, and the press release in circulation is false, unauthorized, and does not reflect the decisions or procedures of the SDP National Working Committee.”

The SDP emphasized that the NWC had not convened any constitutional session or meeting to make such appointments, reiterating its commitment to due process, internal democracy, and inclusivity across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

Gabam warned that political saboteurs may be behind the false announcement, aiming to destabilize what he described as “the only credible opposition party left standing in Nigeria.”

He stressed: “Let it be known: SDP is focused, united, and determined to rescue Nigeria through purposeful leadership and grassroots empowerment.”

He assured party members and the public that any future restructuring of the NWC or other strategic bodies would be “strategic, consultative, and transparent.”

The party further stated that the so-called meeting of Thursday, May 15, 2025—cited as the basis for the alleged appointments—“did not authorize any appointments, and no resolution of such nature was adopted.”

Gabam appealed for calm among members and urged them to ignore what he called a propaganda-driven distraction. He called on supporters to continue mobilizing at the grassroots to boost the party’s visibility and presence ahead of the 2027 general elections.