A fresh leadership crisis has hit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following the declaration by Nafi’u Bala, a former governorship candidate in Gombe State and former national deputy chairman of the party, as the interim national chairman.
Bala made the announcement during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday night, rejecting the authority of the current David Mark-led interim leadership. He accused the group of unlawfully hijacking the party and warned that legal action was imminent.
“We wish to draw the attention of all members of our great party and Nigerians at large to the ongoing acts of political hooliganism being perpetrated by some individuals who were hitherto entrusted with the leadership of the party,” Bala stated.
His declaration comes weeks after the ADC was adopted as a coalition platform by several prominent opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi. The coalition, which aims to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, was formally announced on July 2 by ADC founder Ralph Nwosu, who also endorsed the resignation of the party’s National Working Committee and the installation of an interim leadership led by Mark.
Bala, however, described the arrangement as illegitimate and lacking both legal and moral backing. He called on party members to resist what he described as the “total surrender” of the ADC to external political interests.
