The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) took a fresh turn on Monday as the party’s acting National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, denied backing the emergence of David Mark as interim leader of the party.
Bala said he was misled into attending the event where Mark was announced as interim National Chairman. He insisted he never supported the leadership change.
Speaking during an interview on AIT, Bala explained that he attended the gathering based on a different understanding. According to him, the invitation was presented as a meeting to welcome new coalition members into the party.
“I was tricked to attend the handing-over ceremony to David Mark. Ralph told me that it was just adoption of new members for the coalition movement,” Bala stated. “But on the same day, Nwosu announced his resignation, and on the same day, he announced David Mark and other excos.”
Bala pointed fingers at former party chairman Ralph Nwosu, accusing him of orchestrating the process without proper consultation. He said the development came as a surprise to many key members of the party.
At the time of the event, Bala was serving as Deputy National Chairman. He maintained that he had no prior knowledge of any plan to hand over leadership to Mark or to appoint Rauf Aregbesola as interim National Secretary.
He said he immediately began consultations with members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) after realising what had happened.
Following those consultations, Bala said he formally notified the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of his position as the legitimate acting National Chairman.
He also disclosed that the matter has been taken to court in a bid to resolve the dispute legally.
In a further twist, Bala claimed that INEC informed him that he had resigned from his previous role as Deputy National Chairman. He described this as part of the wider deception surrounding the leadership crisis.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Nwosu nor the Mark-led faction had issued any official response to the allegations.
The ADC is currently battling a deep internal crisis, with multiple factions laying claim to its leadership. Apart from Bala and the Mark group, another bloc loyal to Dumebi Kachikwu is also asserting control.
The situation has raised concerns ahead of the 2027 general elections, as the party struggles to present a united front.
INEC has already distanced itself from the dispute. The electoral body said it will not recognise or monitor the activities of any faction until the leadership tussle is resolved by the Federal High Court.
