Another video confirms Nafiu Bala's attendance at ADC unveiling of David Mark-led leadership in 2025

--- A new video has surfaced showing Nafiu Bala, the factional national chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in attendance at the party’s unveiling of the interim leadership led by David Mark in July 2025. 

The footage, now circulating on social media, shows Bala seated in the same row as Kenneth Okonkwo, a former chieftain of the Labour Party, LP, alongside other party stakeholders at the ceremony held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

TheCable verified the video through multiple party stakeholders who attended the event.

On Saturday, TheCable reported Bala’s attendance at the event, citing a July 2, 2026, video posted by Symfoni on YouTube.

At the event, Lauretta Onochie, former presidential aide, introduced Bala as the ADC deputy national chairman (intergovernmental affairs). She co-moderated the programme with Dino Melaye, ex-Kogi senator.

Bala briefly rose from his seat in acknowledgement of the introduction.

Ralph Nwosu, founder and former national chairman of ADC, told the gathering that the party’s national executive council, NEC, and national working committee, NWC, decided to resign to allow Mark to become the interim national chairman.

The new clip confirms Bala’s presence at the unveiling of the Mark-led leadership.

Bala was unavailable for comment, as calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages to his phone were not returned.

BALA DECLARED SELF ADC NATIONAL CHAIR

On July 30, 2025, less than a month after the unveiling, Bala declared himself the national chairman of ADC at a press conference in Abuja.

He accused the Mark-led leadership of unlawfully taking over the party and breaching its constitution.

Bala denied resigning as the deputy national chairman of the ADC, saying “bonafide” party members would challenge the alleged takeover of the party in court.

He dismissed the letter purportedly showing his resignation as “entirely false, deceptive, malicious and fake”.

THE LEGAL FIREWORKS 

On September 2, 2025, Bala approached a federal high court in Abuja (suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025), seeking to stop the Mark-led ADC executives from parading themselves as party leaders.

He also sought an order to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising them and to compel recognition of himself as acting national chairman of the ADC.

The motion ex parte was heard on September 4, 2025, and Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, directed that the respondents, including INEC, be put on notice to show cause why the motion should not be granted.

Dissatisfied with an interim ruling, Mark filed an appeal to challenge the jurisdiction of the federal high court to continue to hear Bala’s suit.

However, on March 12, 2026, the court of appeal dismissed Mark’s case in its entirety, ruling that it was incompetent and unmeritorious.

The three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Uchechukwu Onyemenam, found that there was no substantive ruling by the federal high court on the ex parte application, as the trial judge merely ordered that parties be put on notice.

The court directed parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum and refrain from taking any action capable of undermining the proceedings before the trial court.

INEC’S DERECOGNITION OF ADC

On Wednesday, INEC said it would no longer recognise the ADC factions led by Mark and Bala, following its review of the court of appeal judgement.

The electoral umpire said it would strictly abide by the orders of the court of appeal in handling the leadership dispute within the ADC.

The commission noted that it would not attend meetings, congresses, or conventions of the groups pending the determination of a case before the federal high court.

But the Mark-led faction rejected INEC’s interpretation of the appellate court’s ruling, accusing the electoral body of acting under external pressure.

On Monday, the ADC faction led by Mark said its derecognition by the electoral umpire is a “plot” to prevent the party from fielding candidates in the 2027 general election.