ADC Denies Deal To Make Nafiu Bala North-East Vice Chairman

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed claims that it reached an agreement to appoint Nafiu Bala Gombe as the party’s National Vice Chairman for the North-East, insisting that no such arrangement exists.

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The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the clarification in an interview with The PidomNigeria, stating that the claim was false.

Abdullahi also alleged that the crisis currently rocking the party was being orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

On Saturday, a former senator representing Adamawa North, Ishaku Abbo, attributed the leadership crisis in the party to betrayal, internal disagreements, and external interference.

In a post on his verified Facebook page, Abbo claimed the dispute began after Nafiu Bala Gombe and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) resigned alongside Ralph Nwosu to pave the way for a new leadership led by David Mark.

Abbo said Bala had attended the meeting at the Yar’Adua Centre where David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s national chairman and secretary respectively.

“If you check the picture below, the man sitting before me is Nafiu Bala. He was at the Yar’Adua Centre, clapping and cheering as David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola took over as national chairman and secretary, respectively,” Abbo said.

He further claimed that there had been an agreement to allocate certain positions to members of the coalition from different geopolitical zones.

According to him, the new leadership allegedly failed to honour an agreement to appoint Bala as the National Vice Chairman for the North-East, instead appointing Babachir David Lawal.

Reacting to the allegation, Abdullahi insisted that the party’s national leadership had no knowledge of any such agreement.

“All this talk about the ADC not keeping an agreement is not true. There is no such agreement. If there were any local discussions about sharing positions in the North-East, we are not aware of them,” he said.

He warned that the claim should not be used as justification to undermine the party.

“It is wrong for anyone to use this as a justification to, in connivance with the APC-led government, destroy the African Democratic Congress,” Abdullahi added.

The party spokesman also alleged that Bala was being sponsored to destabilise the ADC.

“We believe he is being sponsored by the government to destabilise our party. This is why Bayo Onanuga and others are celebrating him,” he said.

Despite the crisis within the party, Abdullahi said the ADC would proceed with its scheduled activities, including congresses and the national convention.

“Despite this, we are moving ahead with our plans. Congresses and the convention will hold as scheduled. INEC is not a court,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently announced the removal of some key ADC officials from its records.

Those affected include David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola.

INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information Committee, Mohammed Haruna, explained that the decision followed a court order directing the commission to maintain the status quo pending the final judgment of the trial court.

The ADC has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since 2025, after a new National Working Committee led by David Mark emerged in July of that year.

The dispute stemmed from disagreements over the tenure of the former chairman, Ralph Nwosu, which ended in August 2022.

While Nwosu was said to have supported the 2025 leadership transition, his deputy, Nafiu Bala, insisted he should assume the role of acting chairman following Nwosu’s exit.

The disagreement later escalated into legal battles in both appellate and apex courts.

Despite the dispute, the party says preparations for the 2027 general elections remain on course.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the leader of the ADC in Katsina State and former Minister of State for Education, Lawal Tukur Batagarawa, accused INEC of misinterpreting the court’s directive to maintain the status quo.

He confirmed that ward, local government, state, and national congresses, including the national convention scheduled for April 14, would go ahead as planned.

“The national headquarters, the national leadership of the party, in a meeting, decided that we will continue with our political activities,” Batagarawa said.

“Therefore, congresses at the polling booth level, at the ward level, at the local government level, at the state level, and the national convention slated for the 14th of April will go ahead.”