The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Friday inaugurated a five-member disciplinary committee to probe into the alleged committal of criminal officers, conspiracy, and general misconduct levelled against the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Shehu Gabam.
The disciplinary committee, led by Dr Liman Abubakar, is to extend the probe of Messrs Clarkson and Ogbonna Uchechukwu, the National Auditor and National Youth Leader, respectively, over the alleged infraction.
The National Secretary of the Party, Dr Olu Agunloye who inaugurated the committee mandated It to unearth the truth regarding the allegations of breaches of the SDP Constitution by the trio, examine the state of the accounts of the SDP, determine the circumstances surrounding the production and submission of audited accounts submitted to INEC in the name of the SDP, recommend appropriate remedies, and generally advise on better ways to manage the finances of the SDP to prevent abuse and breach of the SDP Constitution
The trio were accused of committing multiple breaches of the SDP 2022 Constitution as amended, especially Articles 13, 1 7 and 19.
Among the alleged infractions committed by Gabam and the two others included no due processes or internal audit procedures followed in disbursing hundreds of millions of Naira of SOP funds, as well as no approvals whatsoever sought from or given by the NWC as required by the Party’s constitution.
According to Agunloye, “In the first week of June 2025, there was a surprising discovery of the financial reports submitted by the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“There were several abnormalities associated with this action of the National Chairman.
“The National Working Committee (NWC) thereafter decided through a signed Resolution to look further into the abnormalities and report criminal infractions associated with these discoveries to the law enforcement agencies.
“Further inspection into the malfeasance led to the discoveries of: “Management Control Report” by Messrs T. O. Thomas and Company, the External Auditor seconded to the Social Democratic Party by the Chairman of INEC.
“Financial Statement of SDP” by the same Messrs T.O. Thomas and Co. Bank statements from First Bank of Nigeria and Zenith Bank PLC
“The discoveries and evidence established a prima facie case for criminal conspiracy, fraud and theft against three members of the Social Democratic Party listed below:
“Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, National Chairman, hereinafter referred to as Officer-1
Mr. Clarkson, National Auditor, hereinafter referred to as Officer-2
Mr Ogbonna Uchechukwu, National Youth Leader, hereinafter referred to as Officer-3
Observations that led to establishing a prima facie case are:
Multiple breaches of the SDP 2022 Constitution as amended, especially Articles 13, 17 and 19.
“There were no presentations or submissions of any incomes or expenditures to NWC from 2022 to 2025 and only 3 members out of 12 NWC members were aware of any details of the accounts of SDP. Only Officer-1, Officer-2 and Officer-3 were aware of the incomes and expenditures of the Social Democratic Party.
“There were no due processes or internal audit procedures followed in disbursing hundreds of millions of Naira of SDP funds. There were no approvals whatsoever sought from or given by the NWC as required by the party’s constitution.
“There were hundreds of multiple withdrawals by Officer-3 who used multiple variations of his names to transfer several hundreds of millions of Naira of SDP funds into multiple bank accounts operated by him”
“It is noted that Officer-3 is neither the Cashier of SDP, nor a contractor of SDP nor affiliated, in any form, to the Directorates of Treasury or Finance or Administration of the Social Democratic Party.
The composition of the Committee includes: Mr. Liman S Abubakar, Na Chairman, Pharm. Wafari Theman, National Vice Chairman (North East)—Member; Dr. Kingsley Obinna Agbo, Ebonyi State Chairman—Member; Hajiya Laila Mohammed, National Chieftain of SDP—Member; and Barrister Williams Adelewa, Zonal Chairman of SDP – Secretary
The disciplinary committee was directed to report back to NWC within 14 days.
Speaking before the imagination of the Committee, the Acting National Chairman of the Party, Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Gombe, said the committee had been tasked to purify and reposition the party to effectively play its rightful role in the near future and beyond, urging the members of the Committee to show decorum, dignity and decency to the trio since it is presumed that they are innocent until the contrary is proved.
According to him, “Let the law, good conscience and equity be your guiding principles, not political consideration.
“Let the truth be your anchor. Obey the rule of law and observe natural justice, which essentially means that no one can be a judge in Israel own case, and you must hear both sides thoroughly before coming to a finding
However, when contacted over the development, Gabam declined comment, saying that as the Chief Executive Officer of the Party, duly recognised by INEC, he would not join issues with anyone, as he had already reported the matter to the appropriate security agencies for proper actions and the INEC.
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