PThe Social Democratic Party (SDP) has protested its exclusion from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) meeting with political party leaders, held on October 14, 2025, describing the move as “unjust and unacceptable.”
In a letter addressed to the newly appointed INEC Chairman dated October 15, 2025, the party expressed shock that it received no formal invitation to the meeting.
It further alleged that a suspended former National Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, may have attended the meeting purportedly representing the SDP.
“Worse still, it would appear as if a personal invitation was sent to Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam secretly by INEC staff or courier to enable him to attend the gathering, despite his suspension,” the party stated in the letter jointly signed by Professor Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe, Acting National Chairman, and Dr. Olu Agunloye, National Secretary.
The SDP reminded the Commission that Gabam and two others were suspended by the National Working Committee (NWC) on June 24, 2025, for alleged disloyalty, anti-party conduct, leadership failure, and financial infractions involving unauthorized withdrawals running into hundreds of millions of naira.
According to the party, the suspension was duly communicated to INEC through a letter dated June 25, 2025, acknowledged by the Commission the following day.
Reaffirming its leadership structure, the SDP noted that its official national secretariat remains at 17 Nairobi Street, Wuse II, Abuja, where it has operated since 2018, and urged INEC to direct all official correspondence to that address.
The party also requested a meeting between the INEC Chairman and its 11-member National Working Committee to clarify current developments and ensure the Commission’s records reflect its legitimate leadership.
“We respectfully request a meeting at your convenience to provide further documentation and clarity for the avoidance of doubt,” the letter concluded.
The protest marked the latest chapter in the SDP’s internal power struggle following the suspension of Gabam, who led the party into the 2023 general elections.
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