Ex ADC Chairman, Deputy Disagree Over Mark-led Leadership
… I Did Not Resign – Ex Deputy
… Ex Chair Fingers Presidency
The controversy trailing the leadership change at the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is yet to be over.
The erstwhile National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu and his deputy, Nafiu Bala, have disagreed, with the latter claiming to be the party’s Interim National Chairman.
THE WHISTLER had earlier reported that all members of the Nwosu-led National Working Committee (NWC) recently formalised their resignation from the ADC.
The deal was sealed at party’s 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, held at Chelsea Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday, July 29, leading to the dissolution of the Nwosu-led leadership.
The dissolution was sequel to a motion anchored in Article 9(12), 9(14) of the ADC constitution.
It effectively relinquished the party’s leadership structure to a coalition of opposition politicians.
The change of leadership baton saw the emergence of a former President of the Senate, David Mark as the new ADC National Chairman.
A former Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola became the National Secretary, while a former Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi emerged as the National Publicity Secretary.
The motion for the transfer of the ADC leadership structure was moved by erstwhile National Organising Secretary, Ibrahim Suleiman. It was seconded by Prince Charles Omidiji, a member from Osun State.
The motion was overwhelmingly carried without a single dissenting voice. Many of the erstwhile party officials were however re-absorbed into various positions by the new leadership.
However, barely 48 hours later, Nafiu Bala repudiated the leadership change, describing it as “unprecedented assault on democracy” orchestrated by “political hooligans.”
Bala, on Thursday, declared himself the “Interim National Chairman” of the ADC and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as such.
However, a resignation letter, electronic copy of which was obtained by THE WHISTLER, indicated that Bala had voluntarily resigned his position as Deputy National Chairman of the ADC on May 26, 2025.
In the said letter, dated May 17, 2025, he stated that he was resigning to “make way for a smooth and effective coalition and restructuring.”
Bala also stated in the letter, that he would be available to serve the ADC in any other capacity if called upon to do so by the new leadership.
The letter indicated Bala’s address as – Nasarawa Ward, Gombe local government, Gombe State.
The letter in full: “I, Nafiu Bala, do hereby write to notify you of my resignation as member of the National Working Committee of our great party, African Democratic Congress with effect from 26 May, 2025.
“My resignation is to make way for a smooth and effective coalition and restructuring.
“My resignation does not in any way mean that I am abandoning the party, so I would be ready to serve in any other capacity I may be called upon in the future.
“While I thank you for the opportunity afforded me to serve our great party, please accept the assurances of my highest regards.”
The letter was addressed to the erstwhile ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu who has similarly resigned from his position.
But in a telephone chat with THE WHISTLER on Saturday, Bala denied ever resigning his position as Deputy National Chairman of the ADC.
His words, “I remain the Interim National Chairman because the constitution of our party and the Nigerian constitution allow me to take over the leadership of the party.
“That resignation letter was not signed by me. I don’t know where it came from. It’s a fake letter created by some hooligans.
“I am not aware of the latter because I have not resigned from my position as Deputy National Chairman of the party.
“The signature on that letter is not my signature and I have already informed security personnel about the it.
“The NEC meeting at Chelsea Hotel was not supposed to be presided over by our national chairman. I was the one who should have presided over that meeting but I was not there.
“If I have any cause to resign, I would resign the way our national chairman did.
“That meeting was a meeting of hooligans. It was an illegal meeting. Surprisingly, as the chairman of the party, I saw a group of people holding a meeting on behalf of the party.
“I have already taken the matter before the court. I remain the legitimate interim national chairman.”
But ex chairman, Nwosu blamed Bala’s actions on what he described as temptations from the powers that be, struggling to stampede democracy and foist a one-party system on the nation.
In a separate telephone chat with THE WHISTLER, Nwosu said leadership and nation building require strong character of the mind, the heart and the soul.
According to him, those who want to foist a one-party system today, are not the military men, but frontline politicians “who even worked with some of us to oust the military.”
Stating that the nation was at a crossroads, Nwosu said the temptations, the challenges and the inducement are so strong that at times people falter.
His words, “We are at a crossroads now and there is a struggle to stampede our democracy and foist a kind of one party system on the nation.
“And the people who want to do that, unfortunately, are not the military men. They are frontline politicians who even worked with some of us to oust the military.
“President Bola Tinubu was one of the leaders of NADECO. But now that he has found himself in power, he wants to do worse than the military did. That hurts people like us.
“Bala is my good friend and he worked very hard in the ADC. But when we are at a crossroads like this, temptations will come.
“Because we have not experienced the kind of transition or transmission that the ADC has brought into our polity, some people may be confused as to where we are going.
“They may be wondering how are you sure that these people that are so powerful, with so much money can be dislodged. So at a point, they may be having a second thought.
“But I can assure you that Bala will come back to reason again and take a backward step and reconnect with the positive direction. I can assure you that.
“If you were at our meeting the other day, some people faltered. But we passed a resolution recalling all the people we had suspended, sacked or dismissed in the past. We recalled all of them, except one man.
“The only person we left out is Dumebi (Kachukwu) who is completely opposite of our ideal. People who feel that they must be entrenched in deal making at a cost to the public or to the other party.
“If you carry people like that in your boat, you will continue having challenges.
“The symbol of handshake in our logo stands for respect, humanity, love and fellowship. So I can assure you that Bala will definitely come back on the right track.”
Ex ADC Chairman, Deputy Disagree Over Mark-led Leadership is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
