In a stunning political drama that has rocked Nigeria’s opposition landscape, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has suspended its National Chairman, Shehu Gabam, over weighty allegations of monumental financial fraud and abuse of office.
The scandal, which reportedly involves the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of naira—including revenues from 2023 nomination forms and donor contributions—has prompted outrage across the political divide and raised serious questions about internal democracy and accountability within Nigeria’s fragile multiparty system.
Announced via an explosive statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Aiyenigba, the suspension also swept up the National Auditor, Nnadi Clarkson, and National Youth Leader, Chukwuma Uchechukwu.
All three, the party alleged, were enmeshed in unauthorised transactions, personal enrichment schemes, and outright diversion of party funds—all without the approval of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Gabam is further accused of unilaterally submitting falsified financial statements to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a move the party claims was not only illegal but done without NWC consent.
According to Aiyenigba, the SDP has formally alerted law enforcement agencies and notified INEC of the development, in what it described as an embodiment of its zero-tolerance policy on corruption.
This scandal comes barely two years after the 2023 elections, where the SDP struggled to remain politically relevant amid Nigeria’s entrenched two-party dominance.
Analysts argue this financial implosion could deal a fatal blow to its already dwindling credibility.
In the interim, Deputy National Chairman (North), Sadiq Abubakar, has taken over as Acting Chairman pending the conclusion of an urgent forensic audit.
The SDP, founded on democratic socialist ideals in the early 1990s, now finds itself at a moral crossroads.
As Nigerians grow increasingly disillusioned with elite corruption across party lines, the fate of this once-promising “third force” may well hang in the balance.
