Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Nafiu Bala, the former Deputy National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, has alleged that he was deliberately deceived into attending the July 2025 ceremony that installed former Senate President David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as interim National Chairman and National Secretary of the party.
In an interview with Africa Independent Television aired on Monday, Bala claimed that Ralph Nwosu, the then National Chairman of the ADC, invited him under the false pretence that the gathering was merely for the adoption of new coalition members into the party. Instead, he said, he found himself witnessing a complete leadership handover that he had neither consented to nor anticipated. “I was tricked into attending 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, who was the ADC’s Deputy National Chairman at the time, explained that his understanding of the event had been shaped by months of coalition discussions.
The party had been engaged in negotiations with a coalition of opposition figures seeking a unified platform for the 2027 general elections. The adoption of the ADC as that platform was meant to be the central agenda of the July 2, 2025, meeting held at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. Instead, Bala said, the event took an unexpected turn when Nwosu took the floor, resigned as National Chairman, and immediately declared David Mark as interim chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as interim national secretary. “I was surprised because that was not what took me there,” Bala told TheCable. “They only came to introduce themselves and adopt ADC as a party for the 2027 general election.” He maintained that there was no formal vote, no consensus, and no prior consultation with the National Working Committee, adding that Nwosu’s actions violated Articles 8(2) and 9(4) of the ADC Constitution, which outline proper procedures for leadership succession.
Bala further alleged that the deception did not end at the ceremony. When he later approached the Independent National Electoral Commission to assert his claim as the legitimate acting National Chairman, he was reportedly informed that records already indicated his resignation from the post of Deputy National Chairman. “When I found out that my signature was forged, I immediately filed a suit against the David Mark-led group and also briefed Nigerians through the media,” he told Leadership. Bala insisted that he never resigned and that his signature had been fabricated to clear the path for the new leadership. He also rejected the notion that his attendance at the July 2025 event implied endorsement of the leadership change. “My attendance at the meeting and previous engagements with coalition partners from April 2024 to July 2025 do not imply endorsement of the irregular appointments,” he said in a statement. “There was no formal vote or consensus on the appointments, and several NWC members, including myself, were taken aback by the developments.”
Asked why he did not raise an alarm immediately at the event, Bala explained that he chose to consult widely with other party organs before taking formal action. “One week later, I met with the national working committee across the country for consultation before taking action,” he said. “After the consultation, I wrote to INEC as the deputy national chairman, acting as the chairman of the party. After the consultation, I went to court.” In September 2025, Bala filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop the Mark-led faction from parading themselves as party leaders and to compel INEC to recognise him as acting National Chairman.
The legal battle escalated, and on March 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed an interlocutory appeal filed by the Mark-led faction and issued preservative orders directing all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the resolution of the substantive suit. Citing that judgment, INEC on April 1, 2026, removed the names of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its official portal as National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, effectively withdrawing recognition from the Mark-led leadership.
Ralph Nwosu, however, has strongly rejected Bala’s version of events. In a televised interview on Arise Television, Nwosu insisted that Bala and all state chairmen were fully aware of the process that led to the emergence of the Mark-led leadership. “I know that in some of your reels, you have all the activities we carried out from 2024 to 2025, including what happened in 2025 when David Mark became chairman. All the state chairmen were part of the programme,” Nwosu said.
He explained that aggrieved members who had earlier left the party were reintegrated following an Alternative Dispute Resolution process facilitated by INEC. “We reabsorbed them, and all the programmes that took place in 2024 and 2025, culminating in David Mark becoming the national chairman, involved them. They were part of it.” Nwosu specifically pointed to the July 2 event at the Yar’Adua Centre, stating that Bala and the state chairmen were present and applauding. “They were all there, clapping, Nafiu and all the state chairmen. If you check your July 2 reel, you will see them.” He also noted that a subsequent NEC meeting on July 29, 2025, had a clear agenda focused on selecting new leadership, and that INEC itself had received the agenda.
The crisis has deepened further in recent weeks. On April 14, 2026, the Mark-led faction held a national convention in Abuja and announced the expulsion of Bala, House of Representatives member Leke Abejide, and several others over alleged anti-party activities. Bala dismissed the convention as an unlawful exercise in contempt of court orders, describing it as the product of a hijacked structure. “These individuals are not even members of our party, so they lack the locus to take such decisions. We will fight it to the last point,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ADC State Chairmen Forum has rejected both factions, accusing Mark and Bala of hijacking the party from genuine members and backing INEC’s decision to withdraw recognition from both groups. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an appeal arising from the leadership crisis on April 22, 2026. As the legal battles continue and the 2027 elections draw nearer, the ADC remains deeply fractured, with at least three rival camps laying claim to its leadership. For Bala, the fight is no longer just about a party chairmanship. It is, he insists, about exposing what he calls a constitutional breach and preventing what he describes as a political hijacking.
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