A faction of the African Democratic Congress led by David Mark has announced the expulsion of Nafiu Bala over alleged anti-party activities.
The faction also expelled several members, including Leke Abejide, Kingsley Temitope, Obinna Norman, Kennedy Odiong, and Stella Chukwuma.
The decision followed a motion moved by Binos Yaroe during the party’s national convention held in Abuja on Tuesday. Delegates adopted the motion through a voice vote.
Speaking at the convention, Chinedu Idigo, the party’s organising secretary, accused the affected members of destabilising the party by deepening internal divisions.
“They have sown seeds of discord within the party and sought to create factions, doubts, and confusion across the polity, the public, and regulatory authorities, thereby causing instability within the party,” he said.
“They were given time to retrace their actions but failed to do so.”
The crisis within the party has persisted since July 2025, when an opposition coalition assumed leadership of the ADC.
Since then, Bala has consistently challenged the legitimacy of the Mark-led leadership, alleging it was unlawfully constituted.
On April 1, the Independent National Electoral Commission derecognised the Mark-led faction following an interim ruling by the court of appeal.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has scheduled April 22 to hear an appeal filed by Mark in response to a suit instituted by Bala challenging his leadership.
The ADC had accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of violating the law and taking sides in its ongoing leadership dispute.
The allegation was made on Thursday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
Abdullahi argued that a former party official, Nafiu Bala Gombe, no longer has the legal standing to act on behalf of the ADC. According to him, Bala’s tenure ended following his resignation and the subsequent dissolution of the executive committee to which he belonged.
He explained that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the highest decision-making body after the national convention, had already taken binding decisions regarding the party’s leadership structure.
“As at July 17, he was no longer an official of the party, and INEC knew this,” Abdullahi stated, insisting that Bala lacks the legal authority, or locus, to act in any official capacity.
The ADC spokesman questioned why INEC would continue to recognise actions linked to Bala despite being aware of his resignation, alleging that such conduct suggests bias in the handling of the party’s internal crisis.
“So on what basis is INEC recognising Bala’s action? Recognising Nafiu Bala’s action means that INEC is taking a side,” he said.
Abdullahi further accused the electoral body of disregarding a subsisting directive of the Court of Appeal to maintain the status quo, describing INEC’s actions as contemptuous of the court.
“What INEC has done effectively is to violate the directive of the appeal court,” he added, using strong language to criticise the commission’s conduct.
