Nafi’u Bala, former governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Gombe State and former deputy national chairman of the party, has announced himself as the interim national chairman of the ADC.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday night, Bala accused the David Mark-led interim leadership of illegally taking over the party. He warned that legal action would be taken to challenge what he described as the “complete handover” of the party’s structure to external political interests.
“We want all members of our party and Nigerians to know about the political misconduct being carried out by some individuals who were once trusted with the leadership of our party,” Bala said.
His declaration comes just weeks after a coalition of opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, announced they would adopt the ADC as a platform to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
This coalition was formally introduced on July 2 by Ralph Nwosu, founder and pioneer chairman of the ADC, who also announced the resignation of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and endorsed David Mark as interim leader.
However, Bala insists this move is both unconstitutional and illegitimate.
“We have all witnessed the shameful and lawless behaviour of these so-called leaders, who have thrown our party into crisis and confusion,” he said.
Bala strongly criticized what he described as the undemocratic handover of party leadership to outsiders and promised to defend the party’s constitution.
“It is wrong to give away the future of our party by abandoning our constitutional duties and allowing outsiders who have never been members of our party to take control,” he added.
He described the internal shake-up as a poorly executed political drama and vowed to fight it through both party structures and the courts.
“If these people refuse to follow our party’s rules and continue with their unlawful actions, we will not hesitate to take legal action to stop them and hold them accountable,” Bala stated.
He said the ADC’s constitution clearly defines how leadership should change hands, and based on those guidelines, he is now assuming the role of interim national chairman.
Bala called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to officially recognise him as the legitimate leader of the party.
