Following the suspension of its National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam; the National Auditor, Mr. Clarkson and the National Youth Leader, Mr. Ogbonna Uchechukwu, the Social Democratic Party, SDP, National Working Committee, NWC, has inaugurated a disciplinary committee to investigate the alleged financial misappropriation and malfeasance.
The suspension of the three top officers of the party was based on alleged fraudulent audited financial report submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The committee, inaugurated July 4, comprises Mr. Liman S Abubakar, National Chieftain, Chairman, Wafari Theman, National Vice Chairman, North East; Dr. Kingsley Obinna Agbo, Ebonyi State Chairman, Hajiya Laila Mohammed, and Williams Adelewa, zonal chieftain as secretary.
The committee’s terms of reference include fact finding regarding the allegations of breaches of the party’s constitution, examining the state of the accounts of the party; determining the circumstances surrounding the production and submission of audited accounts to INEC in the name of the SDP, recommending appropriate remedies and generally, advising on better ways to manage the finances of the SDP to prevent abuse and breach of the SDP Constitution
Speaking at the inauguration of the committee, the acting National Chairman, Dr Sadiq Umar Gombe, said the committee had been tasked to purify and reposition the party to effectively play its rightful role in the near future.
He urged members of the committee to discharge their responsibility with the utmost sense of duty, transparency, and fairness, without fear or favour.
He charged the committee to be fair and upright, saying, “In discharging your duties, we implore you to be just and impartial. Let your findings speak for themselves. If an issue is white, say it is white; if black, say it is black. Report everything truthfully and objectively. Always remember that your actions are accountable not only to the party and the public but ultimately to Almighty Allah, before whom we shall all give account on the Day of Judgment.”
Stressing that the committee was not set up to witchhunt any member but to prepare and equip the party ahead of the 2027 elections, he said: “It is important to underscore that this exercise is not meant to witch-hunt anyone but to cleanse and reposition our party for the immense role it must play in the upcoming elections and in the political future of our country. Nigeria has never been in greater need of a credible, dependable and principled political party than it is today; a time when many Nigerians have lost faith in the existing political structures.”
