“I Was Tricked”: Nafiu Bala Opens Up On ADC Crisis

By Emmanuel Kwada

In a revealing exclusive interview with AIT News, Nafiu Bala, the factional National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has broken his silence on the deepening leadership crisis rocking the party.

Bala, who has been at the centre of a bitter power tussle with the David Mark-led faction, claimed he was deceived into attending a key handover ceremony that installed Senator David Mark as interim National Chairman.

“I was tricked,” Bala told AIT.  According to him, he was invited under the pretext that the meeting was for the adoption of new members into the party. He said Ralph Nwosu, a key figure in the party, misled him about the true purpose of the gathering.

“I was told it was an adoption of new members, but Ralph Nwosu tricked me into attending the handover ceremony to David Mark,” Bala explained.

He maintained that there was no prior agreement or consensus to hand over leadership to Senator David Mark at the meeting he attended in July 2025.

Bala insisted that the process leading to Mark’s emergence was imposed and lacked proper internal consultation within the party.

The crisis escalated recently when the David Mark-led ADC national convention expelled Nafiu Bala and some members of his faction over alleged anti-party activities and for approaching the court without exhausting internal dispute resolution mechanisms.

Bala, who also serves as a former Deputy National Chairman, has rejected his expulsion, describing it as illegal and in contempt of court orders.

He called for a political solution to the crisis, alongside House of Representatives member, Hon. Leke Abejide, who is also affected.

The leadership battle in the ADC has continued to generate tension, with both factions laying claim to the soul of the party ahead of future elections.

Bala used the opportunity to reiterate his commitment to repositioning the ADC, including a controversial proposal that the party would no longer field candidates above 55 years of age in future elections to give younger Nigerians a chance to lead.