A fresh leadership crisis has erupted in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), as Nafi’u Bala—a former governorship candidate in Gombe State and ex-national deputy chairman—has declared himself the party’s interim national chairman.
At a press conference Wednesday night in Abuja, Bala accused the faction led by former Senate President David Mark of illegally seizing control of the party in violation of its constitution. He denounced the move as a “shameful political takeover orchestrated by outsiders” and vowed to challenge it in court.
“We wish to draw the attention of our members and all Nigerians to the ongoing acts of political hooliganism by individuals who were once entrusted with the party’s leadership,” Bala stated.
He alleged that the party’s structures have been unlawfully handed over to political actors with no ties to the ADC, warning that such actions threaten the party’s internal democracy.
Bala’s declaration follows the July 2 announcement by ADC founder and former chairman Ralph Nwosu, who dissolved the National Working Committee (NWC) and endorsed an interim leadership led by David Mark. This development came shortly after prominent opposition figures—including Atiku Abubakar, Uche Secondus, Aminu Tambuwal, Peter Obi, and Nasir el-Rufai—adopted the ADC as their coalition platform for the 2027 elections.
Bala condemned the transition as a “political melodrama” and a betrayal of the party’s founding principles. He claimed that legitimate ADC members were sidelined in favor of “political strangers” and insisted that only elected officials have the authority to manage party affairs.
“In democratic systems worldwide, no group can arbitrarily transfer political mandates to non-members,” he said, citing the ADC’s constitution as the basis for his claim to leadership.
Bala called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize him as the rightful interim chairman and warned that if the Mark-led group continues to disregard the party’s rules, he will pursue legal action to reverse what he termed an “unprecedented act of impunity.”
