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Nafiu Bala, who claims to lead another faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led a protest with other members of his faction on Thursday to demand recognition as the party’s leader.
Bala’s Thursday protest comes a day after former Senate President David Mark, former Labour Party Presidential Candidate Peter Obi, and other members of the Mark-led ADC faction protested at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to demand INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan’s sack and reversal of INEC’s recent decision on the party.
Kogi lawmaker Leke Abejide, who has been a vocal critic of the Mark-led faction of the ADC, joined Bala and other supporters in the protest.
The factional chairman of ADC, Nafiu Bala, has led a protest at the INEC headquarters today, demanding that the body recognise him as the authentic chairman of the party pending the court hearing on the matter.
Watch 👇🏿 https://t.co/Bwl9pRqRbT pic.twitter.com/w0KpT6ne4J
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) April 9, 2026
The group knocked Mark, Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, demanding that they “leave the party alone.” They claim that the members of the Mark-led ADC are not true members of the party.
“You must follow due process. You cannot follow ADC through the window and you expect to come and overturn the owners of the ADC. We are here to stand for Nigerians. We want democracy. We don’t want anybody to come and use the ADC to destroy democracy. ADC is for all Nigerians,” said Bala.
The ADC, which vows to unseat Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections, is grappling with an internal crisis. At the heart of the crisis is a battle for who is the party’s authentic national chairman.
Mark was sworn in by the party’s former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, in 2025, but Bala, who was a party member before Mark and others joined, claims he should be the party’s leader.
A legal battle has also worsened the party’s internal dispute. A Court of Appeal judgment on the party’s leadership dispute said the party should maintain the status quo ante bellum. Following the ruling, INEC removed Mark’s name and the names of other members of the ADC’s national working committee from the portal on April 1.
