A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that a purported resignation letter presented by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as evidence that Nafiu Bala voluntarily left his position as deputy national chairman was not genuine, dealing a major blow to the party’s David Mark-led leadership.
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the judgment on November 5, 2026, held that the disputed document did not provide reliable evidence that Bala had resigned from his position as Deputy National Chairman (North-East).
The court reached the decision after examining the signature on the purported resignation letter, dated May 17, 2025, and comparing it with Bala’s signatures on other documents submitted during the proceedings.
According to TheCable, the judge found that the signatures were materially different and could not reasonably be regarded as belonging to the same person.
Lifu consequently rejected the letter, identified as Exhibit ADC 1, as proof of Bala’s voluntary resignation, ruling that the defendants could not rely on it to establish that he had relinquished his position before the emergence of the new party leadership.
Bala had challenged the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as ADC national chairman and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary, arguing that the process through which they assumed leadership violated the party’s constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
He maintained that he was elected deputy national chairman on October 12, 2022, for a four-year tenure and remained the only elected member of the party’s National Working Committee who had not resigned following the departure of other members.
The plaintiff argued that the vacancies created by the resignations could only be filled through a democratic election involving party delegates, rather than appointments or ratification by the National Executive Committee.
The ADC and other defendants, however, maintained that Bala had voluntarily resigned in May 2025 and therefore lacked the legal standing to challenge subsequent decisions taken by the party.
They also argued that the party’s National Executive Committee had the authority to dissolve the existing National Working Committee and constitute a new leadership.
However, Justice Lifu held that the defendants failed to establish that the process leading to the emergence of the Mark-led leadership complied with the mandatory requirements for democratic elections under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The judge stressed that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s monitoring of the party meeting did not automatically establish that a valid democratic election had taken place.
The court subsequently declared the actions and decisions arising from the July 29, 2025, meeting invalid and restrained INEC from recognising or dealing with Mark, Aregbesola and members of the caretaker committee as the party’s legitimate national officers.
The judgment also invalidated decisions taken by the caretaker committee, including the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The ruling followed a protracted leadership dispute within the opposition party, which intensified after several opposition politicians adopted the ADC as their political platform ahead of the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, the ADC has rejected the court’s decision and indicated its intention to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
The development represents another major setback for the party as it navigates internal leadership disputes and legal challenges ahead of the next general election.