Ishaku Abbo, senator representing Adamawa north, has attributed the leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to internal disagreements, betrayal, and alleged external interference.
The crisis escalated after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced it would no longer recognise factions led by David Mark and Nafiu Bala, citing a Court of Appeal judgment and ongoing litigation. Reacting in a statement shared on his Facebook page, Abbo said the dispute began after Bala and members of the party’s national working committee stepped down to allow a new leadership structure to emerge.
“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,” he said. According to Abbo, there was an agreement to allocate party positions across geopolitical zones to integrate members ofthe existing structure.
“The agreement made with the legacy party was to cede certain positions to them from each geopolitical zone so that they can be part of the larger ADC,” he said. He claimed that Bala was initially promised the position of national vice-chairman for the north-east but that the agreement was later not honoured.
“During the formation of the David Mark-led NWC, the new leadership reneged on the earlier agreement to make Bala national vice chairman northeast and instead installed Babachir David Lawal in the position,” Abbo said.
He added that Bala rejected an alternative role offered to him. “At this point, he started plotting how to bring the whole roof down,” he alleged. Abbo further claimed that unnamed political figures, including a serving governor and a former minister, were backing legal actions against the party.
The senator called on Bala to withdraw the case in court and work towards unity, while also urging INEC to reconsider its position. He warned that the ongoing situation could have broader consequences if not resolved.