EMEKA NZE writes about brazen inconsistencies and doublespeak in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and wonders whether the White Horse party has joined the legion of conflict-ridden political parties suffering early morning fever of 2027 general elections
The Social Democratic Party (SDP), one of the registered political parties in the country, has, to a very large extent, enjoyed a relatively peaceful and crisis free atmosphere since its inception till date.
Unlike most of the other registered political parties, such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), the ruling All Progressives Congress APC and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), which have been bedevilled, with crises of different nature and dimensions, the case of the SDP seemingly appears to be different.
The SDP has always been in the news for the right reason.
This has shown in the way the party has been managed so far under the national leadership since the moment it was registered or birthed.
It is a truism that no group, association or political party can actually extricate itself completely, from dispute or disagreement, reason being that where two or more persons are gathered, there are bound to be discordant tunes arising largely, from individual differences.
However, the ability to manage or resolve these crises, disputes and disagreements is what shows the maturity among the members.
In a nutshell, crisis or disagreement and the management of same is part of human endeavour.
Few days ago, the SDP, through its National Publicity Secretary Rufus Aiyenigba, issued a press statement informing the public that with a view to re-strategizing for victory ahead of the 2027 general elections, it resolved to fill three vacant positions in its National Working Committee (NWC).
The statement noted: “In line with the SDP Constitution, and in accordance with the mandate given to the National Working Committee (NWC) by the National Convention to fill vacant positions in the national leadership of the party, the National Working Committee at its meeting today, Thursday May 15, 2025, which was presided over by the National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, and had a full compliment of the members, except one, filled three of its key positions with the following eminent Nigerian patriots and capable personalities to add value to, and strengthen the party:
“1. Deputy National Chairman (South) Distinguished Senator Ugochukwu Uba, is a scholar, public servant, and politician from Anambra state, South-East Zone.
- Deputy National Chairman (North) Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar is from Gombe state, North-East Zone. 3. National Financial Secretary Mr. Hussani Ado Bello, from Kano state, North-West Zone.
“Accordingly, Senator Ugochukwu Uba as Deputy National Chairman (South), Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar as Deputy National Chairman (North) and Mr. Hussani Ado Bello, as National Financial Secretary, have become members of the National Working Committee of our great party, the Social Democratic Party, with effect from May 15, 2025, having been duly and validly appointed.
However, barely 24 hours after, the three appointments were dismissed as untrue. A counter statement was issued by Chief Arinze Ekelem, National Vice Chairman (South East), dismissing the media reports on the appointments of Senator Ugochukwu Uba and Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Gombe as members of its NWC, saying that they were not registered members of the party.
Ekelem, in the statement said the report was ‘misleading and false information’, fabricated to create confusion within SDP folds, insisting that the duo could not have been appointed into such sensitive and important offices as being claimed.
He urged the SDP members stakeholders as well as the members of the public to disregard what he called the ‘fake news’.
Excepts of the statement read: “The South East zone of Social Democratic Party (SDP), in totality, debunks the appointment of Dr Ugochukwu Uba as the National Deputy chairman south of the party.
“The falsehood and misleading information reported by some media outfits that one certain Ugochukwu Uba has been appointed the National Deputy Chairman south of social democratic party, SDP is false, misleading and never happened.
“We wish to state categorically and for the avoidance of doubt that Senator Ugochukwu Uba is not a card-carrying member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
“Consequently, any claim regarding his appointment to any leadership position within the party is false, misleading, and does not reflect the resolutions or discussions of the meeting of the NWC.
“No such decision was taken at the meeting of the National Working Committee held on 15th May 2025 at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. The alleged appointment is therefore null, void, and of no effect whatsoever, he affirmed.
“South East SDP leadership urges party members, stakeholders, and the general public to disregard this misinformation and remain committed to the integrity, values, and due process that guide the affairs of the Social Democratic Part, he said.
The National Chairman of the Party, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, on his part, declared that SDP was alarmed by the purported appointments when no such has ever taken place and promised to fish out those behind those falsehood fabricated to disorganise the party ahead of the 2027 General elections.
He, however, expressed total confidence of the party in brilliance outings in the coming general elections based on the efforts being put in place to refloat it as available platform for Nigerians with true democratic aspirations.
However, multiple sources within the SDP confirmed that a NWC meeting of the SDP, indeed, took place where the appointment of the three new national officers were made.
One of the sources, specifically, confirmed that there were twelve (12) NWC members in SDP in total but one was absent, stressing that 8 out of 11 NWC members present at the meeting voted in favour of appointments.
The source blamed Alhaji Shehu Gabam and two others who lost out for throwing spanner in SDP’s wheel of progress, together with the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, who recently joined the party.
He said, “There were 12 NWC members in total but one was absent. Eight out of 11 NWC members present at the meeting voted in favour of appointments. Gabam and two others who lost out were ones throwing spanner together with Nasir El-rufai who is a nobody at his ward”, the source volunteered.
Observers and analysts of the sad events within the SDP believe firmly that with the system already put in place in SDP, few individuals, no matter how influential, cannot cause any crisis the party will not be able to resolve.
Finding showed that one of the general directives to members of the SDP, was that they must pay attention to the Nigerian constitution, particularly, chapter two of the constitution, a fundamental objective and directive principle of state policy that states how Nigerians should govern themselves and avoid the mis-governance.
According to the source, “They should also pay attention to the constitution of the SDP, because we take this constitution seriously.
“The SDP is not like other parties where they are coming from, where they violate their constitutions and they can be subverted at will. In the SDP, since I joined the party, I have rarely seen any instance where any officer or institution of the party or group of members is trying to violate the constitution.
“Thirdly, they should look at the manifesto of the party. It is basically for the welfare of the people. That is why we ran on farewell to poverty and insecurity”, he said.
The SDP is known to have put in place some safety valves which are tailored towards nipping any perceived crisis in the bud, before blossoming to a level that will be difficult to tame.
An insider source, in a chat said, “Over time, generations of politicians come to the party (SDP) from other political parties and some have taken time to inculcate the ideology of the party.
“You cannot blame those who are coming, because they’re just coming and if someone is in the party for two weeks or two months, you cannot say that they have become die-in-the-wood, SDP members.
“Some of them had a different background where they’re coming from and some have entered the party initially not for ideological reasons, but just because it’s convenient, because for some politicians a political party is a transactional vehicle. They don’t believe in what the party is saying. They just think that they need a party.
“But, when we come to the party we all get tutored by what the party stands for and we all get challenged from time to time.
“So, the people who need more education than the rest are the political elites, especially the class that came into politics in 1999, who believe that politics is about what you can grab, steal and run away with and that the people don’t exist, they’re just noise in the background.
“You only need them on election day and all you need to do is package some money and give to them and you don’t need to bother about them after that.
“So, these people have difficulty dealing with the SDP but we believe in the redemption of everyone and we believe that if you pay attention, you can perfect it, and you can understand it because the country needs a good political party if we are going to be saved”, the source declared.
The question in the lips of most party members now is: Has SDP made a mistake in accepting el-Rufai into its fold? Time will tell.