…Says event illegal, urges members to ignore
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA – The leadership crisis rocking the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has taken a fresh twist, as the Dr. Abubakar Gombe-led National Working Committee (NWC) has disassociated itself from a political summit scheduled to hold on Friday, September 5, 2025, at Okwadike Events Centre, Venessa Hotel, Owerri.
The summit, tagged “SDP Political Conference Summit”, is being organised by the faction led by Adamu Abubakar Modibbo.
In a statement on Friday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, described the planned event as “illegal,” accusing the organisers of working to mislead party members into a forced alliance with the ADC coalition agenda allegedly promoted by former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
He said:
“The so-called summit is an illegality being committed by a group of dissidents whose overarching objective is to deceive our members and lure them into the ADC coalition. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who is behind this, is no longer a member of the SDP and cannot speak or act on behalf of the party.”
The statement recalled that on July 28, 2025, the SDP NWC expelled El-Rufai for 30 years, along with Modibbo and seven others, who are also facing legal action over their activities.
“Members of the SDP, particularly in Imo State, the South-East, and the general public, are advised to disregard the scheduled ‘SDP Political Conference Summit’ as it has no connection to our party. The SDP is not part of the ADC coalition and remains committed to its founding ideology and manifesto,” the statement added.
The development comes against the backdrop of fresh divisions within the party. On July 25, 2025, a faction led by Adamu Modibbo emerged from an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, with support from 23 state chairmen. Modibbo was named Acting National Chairman after the suspension of Alhaji Shehu Gabam and the brief tenure of Dr. Sadiq Abubakar in acting capacity.
At the time, Modibbo promised reconciliation and reform, announcing the dissolution of standing committees and the setting up of new ones. However, the Abubakar-led NWC immediately dismissed the NEC meeting as illegal and unconstitutional, with the party’s National Secretary, Dr. Olu Agunloye, describing it as “irregular and not sanctioned.”
The SDP has been embroiled in crisis since June 2025 when Gabam was suspended over alleged financial misconduct, alongside two NWC members accused of unauthorized financial transactions and diversion of party funds.
The party leadership under Gombe insists it is working to strengthen its structures at the state and national levels, positioning the SDP as a credible alternative in Nigeria’s political space.
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