ADC Refutes Agreement to Appoint Nafiu Bala as North-East Vice Chairman

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has denied reports of any deal to install Nafiu Bala Gombe as its National Vice Chairman for the North-East zone, maintaining that no such agreement was ever reached.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the clarification in an interview with The PUNCH, stating that the claim was false.

Abdullahi also alleged that the crisis currently rocking the party was being orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

On Saturday, a former senator representing Adamawa North, Ishaku Abbo, attributed the leadership crisis in the party to betrayal, internal disagreements, and external interference.

In a post on his verified Facebook page, Abbo claimed the dispute began after Nafiu Bala Gombe and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) resigned alongside Ralph Nwosu to pave the way for a new leadership led by David Mark.

Abbo said Bala had attended the meeting at the Yar’Adua Centre, where David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s national chairman and secretary, respectively.

“If you check the picture below, the man sitting before me is Nafiu Bala. He was at the Yar’Adua Centre, clapping and cheering as David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola took over as national chairman and secretary, respectively,” Abbo said.

He further claimed that there had been an agreement to allocate certain positions to members of the coalition from different geopolitical zones.

According to him, the new leadership allegedly failed to honour an agreement to appoint Bala as the National Vice Chairman for the North-East, instead appointing Babachir David Lawal.

Reacting to the allegation, Abdullahi insisted that the party’s national leadership had no knowledge of any such agreement.

“All this talk about the ADC not keeping an agreement is not true. There is no such agreement. If there were any local discussions about sharing positions in the North-East, we are not aware of them,” he said.

He warned that the claim should not be used as justification to undermine the party.

“It is wrong for anyone to use this as a justification to, in connivance with the APC-led government, destroy the African Democratic Congress,” Abdullahi added.

The party spokesman also alleged that Bala was being sponsored to destabilise the ADC.

“We believe he is being sponsored by the government to destabilise our party. This is why Bayo Onanuga and others are celebrating him,” he said.

Despite the crisis within the party, Abdullahi said the ADC would proceed with its scheduled activities, including congresses and the national convention.

“Despite this, we are moving ahead with our plans. Congresses and the convention will hold as scheduled. INEC is not a court,” he stated.