Following ongoing authorized battle, Nafiu Bala, factional nationwide chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has rejected stories that he resigned his place as deputy nationwide chairman.
His response adopted the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC)’s decision on Wednesday relating to the ADC management disaster.
Bala spoke in a video printed by Rariya Hausa seen by Politics Nigeria.
He acknowledged {that a} doc claiming he resigned as nationwide vice-chairman on Might 17, 2025 didn’t emanate from him.
“My identify is Hon. Nafiu Bala, the ADC appearing nationwide chairman,” he mentioned.
“I want to use this chance to handle a doc at the moment circulating, which claims that I resigned from my place as nationwide vice chairman on Might seventeenth.
“I want to state that this paper didn’t come from me, and that’s not my signature on it. The signature you see there was cast.”
Bala mentioned his emergence as appearing nationwide chairman adopted the resignation of the social gathering’s former management.
“When you didn’t overlook, on the 2nd of July, we attended the occasion the place some folks confirmed curiosity in becoming a member of our social gathering, the ADC,” he mentioned.
“On that day, the previous ADC chairman, Ralph Nwosu, introduced that he, his secretary, and different social gathering leaders have been stepping down from their positions.
“On that very same day, he advised the world that I, together with different folks, would proceed operating the social gathering affairs till the nationwide conference.”
Bala mentioned he has subsequently resumed workplace as appearing nationwide chairman consistent with the social gathering’s structure.
“Due to that, I’m resuming workplace right now because the ADC nationwide chairman. In keeping with our social gathering structure, when there isn’t a chief, the deputy takes over,” he mentioned.
Bala added that any resignation letter he would subject can be performed along with his official letterhead.
“After I was deputy nationwide chairman, if I have been to put in writing a resignation letter, I might do it utilizing my official letterhead,” he mentioned.
“Any letter not containing my letterhead shouldn’t be from me.”
On August 1, 2025, Bala had equally denied authorship of the resignation letter, dismissing the doc as “fully false, misleading, malicious and pretend”.
Bala’s purported resignation supplies a major sub-plot within the ADC management disaster.
On Thursday, David Mark, the previous senate president who’s embroiled within the social gathering’s management tussle with Bala, mentioned: “One of many officers within the dissolved NWC was Nafiu Bala, who was one of many Deputy Nationwide Chairmen of the social gathering. It’s on document that Gombe resigned this place on seventeenth Might, 2025. His resignation was additionally duly transmitted to INEC on the twelfth of August, 2025. No matter his resignation, he determined to method the courts on September 2nd, 2025, 4 clear months after his resignation, looking for to be recognised because the Chairman of the ADC.”
The litigation involving Bala and Mark over the chairmanship of the ADC led to INEC withdrawing its recognition of the social gathering and delisting names of the Mark government from its portal.
On September 2, 2025, Bala approached a federal excessive courtroom in Abuja (Go well with No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025), looking for to cease Mark’s staff members from parading themselves as social gathering leaders.
He additionally sought an order to restrain INEC from recognising them and to compel recognition of himself as appearing nationwide chairman.
He additional filed motions looking for to cease the social gathering from holding conferences, congresses, or conventions pending the willpower of the swimsuit.
The movement ex parte was heard on September 4, 2025, and Emeka Nwite, the trial decide, directed that the respondents, together with INEC, be placed on discover to point out trigger why the movement ex parte shouldn’t be granted.
Dissatisfied with an interim ruling, Mark filed an enchantment difficult the jurisdiction of the federal excessive courtroom to proceed to listen to Bala’s swimsuit.
Nonetheless, on March 12, 2026, the courtroom of enchantment dismissed Mark’s case in its entirety, holding that it was incompetent and unmeritorious.