The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) worsened on Friday after Nafiu Bala, a factional national chairman of the party, denied resigning from his position, insisting that a letter purportedly announcing his resignation was forged.
The development comes amid a prolonged leadership battle between Bala and a rival faction led by former Senate President David Mark — a dispute that has already prompted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw recognition from both camps pending the resolution of ongoing court cases.
INEC chairman dismisses bias claims
INEC National Chairman, Joash Amupitan, has rejected accusations that the electoral body was siding with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in handling the ADC leadership dispute.
Amupitan made the clarification during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, stating that the commission’s decisions were guided strictly by court orders and the need to avoid actions that could compromise the legal process.
“If the David Mark faction of the ADC are saying that INEC has taken sides, it is not true,” he said.
According to him, the commission became concerned after being informed that one of the factions planned to conduct a congress despite a subsisting court directive.
“Given the fact that they are informing me that they are going to hold their congress on the 9th of April, and the Court of Appeal said ‘don’t do anything that will affect the subject matter of the pending case in the Federal High Court until it is decided,’ at that stage we felt it would be necessary to look at the complaints of all the parties,” Amupitan said.
He added that the commission was trying to prevent a repeat of situations where elections were later invalidated due to unresolved internal party disputes.
“Let me tell you what happened in Zamfara; it happened in the past. We don’t want to conduct an election without this early warning, and at the end of the day, after you have won, the court will again come and declare the election invalid,” he said.
“If the ADC is going ahead with congresses and conventions, it is left for them to determine whether that would be in contravention of the court.”
Bala rejects resignation claim
Meanwhile, Bala has insisted that he never resigned as deputy national chairman of the party, describing the document circulating online as fake.
In a video published by Rariya Hausa, Bala said the letter dated May 17, 2025, which allegedly announced his resignation, did not originate from him.
“My name is Hon. Nafiu Bala, the ADC acting national chairman,” he said.
“I would like to use this opportunity to address a document currently circulating which claims that I resigned from my position as national vice chairman on May 17th. I wish to state that this paper did not come from me, and that is not my signature on it. The signature you see there was forged.”
Bala said he assumed leadership of the party after the resignation of the former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and other members of the National Working Committee.
“If you didn’t forget, on the 2nd of July we attended the event where some people showed interest in joining our party, the ADC,” he said.
“On that day, the former ADC chairman, Ralph Nwosu, announced that he, his secretary and other party leaders were stepping down from their positions.”
According to Bala, Nwosu publicly stated that he and other officials would oversee the affairs of the party until a national convention is held.
“Because of that, I am resuming office today as the ADC national chairman. According to our party constitution, when there is no leader, the deputy takes over,” he said.
He also maintained that if he had resigned, the letter would have been issued on his official letterhead.
“When I was deputy national chairman, if I were to write a resignation letter, I would do it using my official letterhead. Any letter not containing my letterhead is not from me,” Bala added.
Court battle over party leadership
The disagreement over Bala’s alleged resignation has become a key element of the leadership struggle within the party.
David Mark had earlier maintained that Bala resigned his position on May 17, 2025, and that the letter was formally transmitted to INEC on August 12, 2025.
Mark also claimed that Bala later approached the court in September 2025 - several months after the alleged resignation - seeking recognition as the party’s chairman.
In the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Bala asked the court to restrain Mark and his allies from presenting themselves as leaders of the ADC.
He also sought an order compelling INEC to recognise him as acting national chairman and to prevent the party from holding meetings, congresses or conventions until the case is resolved.
Mark subsequently challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear the case, but the Court of Appeal on March 12, 2026 dismissed his appeal, ruling that it lacked merit.
Following the judgment, INEC reviewed the case and announced that it would suspend recognition of both factions of the party pending the final resolution of the dispute.
APC, presidency blame ADC
Reacting to the controversy, the ruling APC accused the opposition party of creating its own crisis and spreading conspiracy theories.
In a statement, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said the ADC was responsible for its internal turmoil.
“Quite apart from being an assembly of Nigeria’s most confused and desperate politicians, the African Democratic Congress has distinguished itself as a peddler of rabid conspiracy theories,” he said.
Morka alleged that the crisis began when the party’s factional leadership allegedly seized control of the organisation in violation of its constitution.
“When its factional leadership under the duo of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola parachuted into the party like thoughtless and planless commandos and hijacked the party in violent violation of its constitutional stipulations regarding leadership succession, the ADC set its own date with destiny,” he said.
He added that INEC’s decision to de-recognise the Mark-led leadership was lawful and justified.
“A party that cannot fix itself cannot possibly fix Nigeria,” Morka said.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga also criticised the ADC for dragging President Bola Tinubu into the crisis.
In a post on X, Onanuga said the opposition party should take responsibility for its internal problems rather than blaming the presidency and the electoral commission.
He explained that the Court of Appeal ruling referenced the principle of status quo ante bellum, which implies restoring the situation to what it was before the conflict began.
“The ADC should stop blaming President Tinubu and INEC for its self-inflicted woes,” he said.
The crisis has left the ADC without an officially recognised leadership, further complicating the party’s internal structure as political realignments continue ahead of the 2027 general election.
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