The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has mocked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its ongoing leadership crisis, describing the opposition party as incapable of managing itself, let alone challenging APC in the upcoming 2027 elections.
The drama unfolded after a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, Nafiu Bala, declared himself the party’s “authentic” national chairman, citing the Electoral Act and ADC’s constitution as his basis for succeeding Ralph Nwosu, who resigned months ago after the party was adopted into the opposition coalition.
Upon Nwosu’s exit, former Senate President David Mark was appointed as interim chairman. However, Bala rejected the arrangement, accusing key coalition leaders—including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar—of hijacking the ADC.
“As far as our constitution is concerned, once the national chairman resigns, the deputy automatically takes over. I have therefore resumed as the legitimate chairman of the ADC,” Bala insisted.
But the party’s National Spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed Bala’s claim, branding him a “charlatan” seeking attention. Abdullahi argued that Bala had no legal claim, stressing that the ADC does not even have a functional secretariat.
“Anybody can call a press conference and claim to be chairman. This same person made similar claims weeks ago. Did he go to court? Did he involve the police? There’s nothing to respond to,” Abdullahi said.
Meanwhile, APC seized the opportunity to lampoon ADC’s internal crisis. Its Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said the wrangling showed that ADC lacked the strength to play effective opposition politics.
“The opposition is supposed to manage its affairs responsibly. If the ADC doesn’t know how to unite its members, it can come and learn from the APC. We have the Progressive Institute, where people can actually learn politics,” Ibrahim quipped.
He further denied APC’s involvement in the crisis, stressing that the ruling party was focused on delivering President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, not destabilising opposition groups.
“The APC cannot reduce itself to creating problems for an opposition party that is daily losing political relevance. In the recent by-elections, APC won 13 out of 16 contested seats, while ADC failed to secure even one. Clearly, it is not a force to reckon with,” Ibrahim added.
