By Kingston Magare 20.3.2026
The African Democratic Congress is heading for trouble as a faction led by Nafiu Bala Gombe insisted that they are the authentic party leaders and not Atiku Abukakar, Peter Obi, David Mark who he claimed have hijacked the party.
Bala Gombe a former deputy national chairman of the ADC said the party’s constitutional order has been breached in the aggressive take over of the party by the Nigerian political heavy weights who formed a coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
In a letter he submitted to the US embassy in Abuja, Bala Gombe urged the US government to sanction those individuals for undermining internal democratic process of the ADC.
Bala Gombe who was the governorship candidate of the ADC in Gombe State, claimed to have emerged national chairman after the resignation of former national chairman, Ralph Okey Nwosu, along with other members of the National Working Committee, NWC.
“I am writing to you in my capacity as the Authentic national chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC. I want to highlight a serious issue within our party that we think is putting the democratic process and the rule of law in Nigeria at risk,” Bala Gombe wrote in his letter to the US embassy.
“As a symbol of democracy and a guardian of constitutional processes around the world, we are asking the Embassy to recognize the situation and take action against the undemocratic takeover of our party.
“Our complaint stems from the evident breach of the ADC Constitution due to the voluntary resignations of our former National Chairman, Mr. Ralph Okey Nwosu and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
“When the National Chairman position becomes empty, the Deputy National Chairman must take over to keep things running smoothly. Following the resignations, I, Hon. Nafiu Bala, remained the sole and only National Deputy Chairman who did not resign. So, by law and following the proper steps, it was my duty as a leader to take charge of the party’s matters.
“Therefore, by constitutional right and due process, the mantle of leadership fell on me to steer the affairs of the party.
“However, our rightful journey toward leadership has been blocked by outside political forces, including power seekers from different political parties.
“These people are trying to take control of the ADC and become leaders without following our party’s rules or proper procedures. We have taken our case to court to fight for justice and show that we are following our party’s rules, but our opponents have used propaganda instead.
“They are falsely claiming that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is supporting and using the courts to suppress their ambitions. To be clear and to make sure there’s no confusion, we want to say directly that we have no connection, relationship, or link with President Tinubu or his political party, the All Progressives Congress.”
He urged the US to consider calling the
“undemocratic elements” to order by imposing sanction on them.
“We respectfully request that these undemocratic elements succeed in seizing our party leadership through unconstitutional means, the United States should consider imposing sanctions against them.
“We specifically ask for the removal or rejection of any special rights, like visas or diplomatic treatment, that are usually given to real democrats and democratic leaders.”
