Former National Chairman of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ralph Nwosu said Nafiu Bala and all state chairmen of the party graced the inauguration of the Senator David Mark-led National Working Committee of the party.
Nwosu stated this in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday night amid the leadership tussle facing the party.
Bala has been locked in a legal battle with the ADC over the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
He accused Nwosu of imposing the Mark-led executives on party members without consultation with the NWC.
Bala argued that as Deputy National Chairman of ADC at the time of Nwosu’s resignation, he should have automatically assumed the leadership of the party.
The controversy got to a head on April 1 when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced it had decognised the Mark-led ADC NWC in compliance with an order of the Court of Appeal.
The crisis also took a dramatic twist on Tuesday when the ADC state chairmen forum led by Don Obinna rejected both the Mark and Bala-led factions.
Speaking on behalf of the forum in Abuja, Obinna, who is ADC chairman in Abia, accused Mark and Bala of hijacking the party from genuine members.
He said INEC’s decision to derecognise both factional leaderships was in order.
But speaking on Tuesday, Nwosu said Bala and the state chairmen fully participated in the process that led to the emergence of the Mark-led NWC.
He further said some members of the former executives made it into the current NWC led by Mark.
According to him, media records and party proceedings clearly show that those now kicking against the Mark-led NWC applauded its emergence at the time.
Nwosu said, “I know that in some of your reels, you have all the activities we carried out from 2024 to 2025, including what happened in 2025 when David Mark became chairman. All the state chairmen were part of the programme.”
He recounted how some aggrieved members who previously left the party were reintegrated following an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process facilitated by INEC.
“We reabsorbed them, and all the programmes that took place in 2024 and 2025, culminating in David Mark becoming the national chairman, involved them. They were part of it,” he stated.
He noted that the July 2, 2025, event held at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja was attended by Bala and the state chairmen.
“They were all there, clapping, Nafiu and all the state chairmen. If you check your July 2 reel, you will see them,” he stated.
Nwosu further stated that the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on July 29, 2025, had a clear and widely circulated agenda focused on selecting new leadership.
He said, “INEC had the agenda, and all the states had it as well. We had about five different meetings, and they were all present.”
Nwosu highlighted the integration of some legacy ADC members into the new NWC led by Mark.
“In the current leadership of the ADC, out of about 29 members, eight were from the legacy ADC, which is a fair share. Dr Ajadi, who is from the old ADC, is now a deputy chairman, and the national treasurer, Dr Mani, is also part of the leadership,” he stated.
