Crisis rocks SDP as chairman declares congress illegal
The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, Moses Oricha, has described the party’s state congress, held on Wednesday by some aggrieved members, as criminal, illegal, null and void, and futile.
Oricha dismissed the organisers of the purported congress as “faceless.”
Speaking with journalists in Lokoja on Wednesday night, he stated that proceeding with a phantom congress despite a pending case before a court of competent jurisdiction was a criminal violation of due process.
According to him, “Our tenure will expire in April 2026, and we wonder why the rush to conduct an illegal congress.”
He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies for not attending the congress, which purportedly produced Ahmed Atta as Chairman and Abdulrahman Idris (Sofather) as Secretary, among other party executives.
“We urge the general public, security agencies, and INEC to disregard this purported congress organised by some individuals masquerading as party members.”
“It has just come to my notice that some ghost individuals, claiming to be members of the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, organised a state congress today, Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
“This is not only laughable but also criminal in a modern democratic setting. These individuals are not only faceless but are also being sponsored by their paymasters — not just for their selfish interests but also to cause chaos in our party, which we built from scratch.
“The general public should not take these individuals seriously with their caricature of a state congress, which cannot stand the test of time because nobody knows them in SDP Kogi State.
“I have written to the Independent National Electoral Commission and copied the Department of State Services and the Commissioner of Police, urging them to disregard this charade called a congress.
“I am the authentic Chairman of SDP in Kogi State, and we will not allow intruders working hard to destroy our party, which we have built over the years. This congress, held today, Wednesday, is null and void and cannot stand.”
Oricha recalled that the congress of the present executive, held on April 9, 2022, under his leadership, remains valid under the SDP constitution.
