The leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) intensified on Wednesday after factional national chairman Nafiu Bala denied claims that he resigned as deputy national chairman, insisting that the resignation letter circulating in public was forged.
Bala made the clarification in a video published by Rariya Hausa, reacting to the recent position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the party’s lingering leadership dispute. He stated unequivocally that the document attributed to him did not originate from his office.
“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,” he said.
Explaining his claim to the party’s leadership, Bala said his emergence as acting national chairman followed the resignation of former chairman Ralph Nwosu and other members of the party leadership on July 2, when they announced their decision to step down ahead of the party’s national convention.
According to him, the party’s constitution provides that the deputy national chairman should assume leadership in the absence of the chairman. He said this provision formed the basis of his decision to resume office as national chairman.
Bala also insisted that any valid resignation letter from him would have been issued on his official letterhead, warning that documents lacking that feature should not be attributed to him. He noted that he had earlier rejected the same resignation claim in August 2025, describing it as false and malicious.
His latest position further deepens the leadership dispute with former Senate President David Mark, who maintains that Bala’s resignation was genuine and properly communicated to INEC before Bala approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking recognition as acting national chairman.
The legal tussle between both factions previously prompted INEC to withdraw recognition of the Mark-led executive. However, on March 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mark’s jurisdictional challenge as incompetent and unmeritorious, a ruling widely seen as strengthening Bala’s position in the ongoing leadership contest within the party.
