El-Rufai Sparks Political Firestorm As SDP Leadership War Erupts

The Social Democratic Party (SDP), once praised as the only major opposition party to escape post-2023 election turbulence, has now been plunged into internal conflict after new appointments to its National Working Committee (NWC) sparked controversy.

Last week, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, announced that Senator Ugochukwu Uba, Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar, and Mr. Hussani Ado Bello had been appointed to fill the roles of Deputy National Chairman (South), Deputy National Chairman (North), and National Financial Secretary, respectively.

While some viewed these appointments as a tactical realignment in preparation for the 2027 general elections, the move has instead ignited a leadership crisis threatening to split the party.

Contradicting the announcement, SDP National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, through Deputy National Secretary Muhammad Biu, denounced the appointments as false and unauthorized. Speaking in Abuja, Biu stated that the NWC had not convened any formal session to deliberate or approve such changes.

“The National Working Committee has not passed any resolution approving new appointments. The statement being circulated is misleading and doesn’t reflect the official position of the party,” Biu warned, urging members to dismiss the claims and resist efforts to destabilize the party.

However, the party’s National Secretary, Dr. Olu Agunloye, pushed back, claiming that 11 out of 12 NWC members were present at a May 15 meeting where the appointments were ratified, with eight members voting in favour. He accused Gabam, along with two dissenters, of aligning with former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to sabotage the outcome.

“Gabam is acting out of personal interest. The majority supported the appointments, and just because he didn’t get his way, he now claims the process was illegitimate,” Agunloye said, further alleging that El-Rufai, who recently defected from the APC, is trying to impose his influence on the party.

Agunloye has also formally notified INEC of the changes in a letter dated May 16, 2025, citing Article 12.5 of the SDP Constitution (2022) and the mandate from the June 8, 2022 National Convention as the legal basis for the appointments. According to the letter, the new appointees will serve for four years or until the next convention.

The deepening division now places the SDP in the same category as the PDP and Labour Party, both of which have been battling factional crises since the 2023 elections.