The State Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have disowned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as a member of the party.
The chairmen, in a statement on Friday by the Chairman of the Forum of State Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Femi Olaniyi Ferrari, accused El-Rufai of planning to destabilize the party.
Specifically, Naijaonpoint reports that Ferrari accused the former Kaduna State Governor of summoning a ‘fake meeting’ of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
He accused El-Rufai of misleading and luring those who attended the reckless and unconstitutional meeting, which took place in Abuja on Friday.
According to Ferrari, El-Rufai lacks the authority and legality to convene such a meeting because he is no longer a member of the SDP after he was suspended by the Kaduna State chapter of the party over false membership claims.
He alleged that El-Rufai has no official record, apart from social media posts and photographs with SDP figures.
Part of the statement read: “Today, July 25, the Forum of SDP State Chairmen learned that a meeting, misleadingly referred to as a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, took place in Abuja without the knowledge of the Chairmen’s Forum or the summons of the SDP’s National Working Committee (NWC).
“As a result, the Forum entirely distances itself from this reckless, unconstitutional, and invalid meeting, which lacked authority, quorum, and legality.
“We know that a few of our chairmen who attended the meeting were misled and lured there by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Ahmad Elrufai, who appears desperate to destabilize the party for reasons known only to him.
“Coincidentally, Elrufai has been disavowed by the Social Democratic Party in his home state of Kaduna due to false membership claims.
“His actions have caused chaos and mischief, and he has engaged in anti-party activities, despite falsely claiming to be a party member without any official record, apart from social media posts and photographs with SDP figures.”
Ferrari reiterated the support of the state chairmen for the National Working Committee of the SDP under the leadership of Shehu Musa Gabam as national chairman and Dr Olu Agunloye as national secretary.
He said no amount of financial inducement or intimidation would make the state chairmen betray the party.
He said: “The Forum firmly supports the leadership of the National Working Committee, duly elected at the June 2022 National Convention.
“The committee appointed Shehu Musa Gabam as National Chairman and Dr. Olu Agunloye as National Secretary.
“We pledge our unwavering support to the authority of that lawful NWC, currently led by acting National Chairman, Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Umar.
“We kindly request that the National Working Committee exercise fairness and natural justice towards our members who unwittingly attended the fake meeting. Justice must be tempered with mercy so that the innocent are not punished alongside the guilty.
“We call for a thorough investigation into those responsible for organizing this mischievous and embarrassing meeting, with appropriate sanctions to be implemented where necessary.
“We reiterate that our forum abides by the decision of the SDP national leadership not to associate the party with the so-called coalition. We await further directives from the National Working Committee while pledging the loyalty of our members to the SDP Constitution and the legitimate leadership of the party.
“Our members are committed to cooperating with any investigation set up by the NWC to identify the wrongdoers. No amount of financial inducement or promises of bribes will lead the SDP State Chairmen to betray the party.
“Consequently, our members whose signatures were forged or misused to send fake letters to INEC have filed complaints through sworn affidavits submitted to both INEC and the SDP National Secretariat.
“We urge members of the media and the general public to refrain from associating or crediting our forum and our members with this disgraceful gathering of unknown individuals.”