A leadership crisis is unfolding within the opposition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC) as Gombe-born politician, Nafiu Bala, declared himself the party’s Interim National Chairman on Thursday.
The position is currently held by former Senate President David Mark.
Mark was declared ADC interim national chairman after the opposition coalition adopted the party as its platform.
Nafiu Bala, who was Gombe State governorship candidate of the ADC during the 2023 elections, said he is assuming the position of interim national chairman due to his status as the duly elected National Deputy Chairman the party.
He made the declaration while addressing a press conference in Abuja, where he accused some individuals he described as “political hooligans” of engineering a leadership crisis in ADC.
He accused former party leaders of abandoning their constitutional responsibilities and handing over the party’s structures to “powerful outsiders” with no ties to the ADC.
Bala also issued a public call to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to urgently recognise the leadership change and uphold the sanctity of the ADC constitution.
He said: “I, Honourable Nafiu Bala, a bonafide member and a duly elected National Deputy Chairman of our great party, the African Democratic Congress wishes to draw the attention of the entire 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.
“We are all living witnesses to the show of shame and acts of lawlessness being displayed by these unscrupulous leaders, who, without any qualm or sense of moral restraint, plunged our party into a needless crisis and leadership uncertainty. The idea of mortgaging the future of our great party, by abdicating the constitutional duties and responsibilities of all elected officers of the party, to some powerful outsiders who never belong to the party, is condemnable.
”Recently, the nation woke up only to be greeted by a shoddily rehearsed political melodrama, in which elected roles were switched with certain groups of political strangers in order to facilitate the complete takeover of the party structures and its political appurtenances.
“This total surrender and capitulation is without any known precedent in our democratic journey to constitutional order. We are therefore strongly resolved and collectively determined to challenge this affront and ensure that the party’s laid down rules and stipulated provisions are respected and strictly adhered to by all those who belong to it.
“In case these individuals choose to ignore our urgent calls to obey our constitutional guidelines and thus remain very obdurate and recalcitrant in their aberrant behaviour, we shall proceed with gusto to challenge these gross acts of impunity in the courts and bring them to justice.
“It gives us enormous pain to inundate you with these scandalous happenings in our party, but we have been left with no other option to take in defence of our inalienable constitutional rights, as evident by the prevailing situation we now find ourselves in the party. In the history of democracy all over the world, no party leader or any group of leaders have the power to arbitrarily transfer elected mandate or political authority to non-members who never belonged or contested for political office.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to restoring constitutional order and internal democracy within the ADC, adding that the constitution provides clear guidelines for succession and filling vacant positions.
He added, “The constitution of our great party has made adequate provision as laid down in many clauses, articulating the succession guidelines and how even vacant positions should be constitutionally filled.
“In the circumstances and also in furtherance of my constitutional mandate as the duly elected National Deputy Chairman of our great party, I now assume my constitutional duty and responsibility as the Interim National Chairman of our great party.
“Therefore, I am hereby calling on the esteemed Independent National Electoral Commission to so urgently step in to take due cognisance of this development.”
