The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has made jest of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for its ongoing leadership crisis.
The APC said the opposition party lacks the ability to manage itself and is in no position to challenge them ahead of the 2027 elections.
This comes after a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, Nafiu Bala, declared himself the new national chairman.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Bala said he was the “authentic” chairman. He argued that both the Electoral Act and the ADC’s constitution made him the rightful successor to Ralph Nwosu, who resigned.
After Nwosu resigned, former Senate President David Mark was made interim chairman. However, Bala rejected this, accusing coalition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, of hijacking the ADC.
“As far as our party is concerned, the constitution is clear. Once the national chairman resigns, the deputy chairman takes over. I have therefore resumed as the authentic national chairman of the ADC,” Bala declared.
But the ADC’s National Spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, quickly responded, calling Bala a “charlatan” who was just seeking attention.
“Anybody can call a press conference and claim to be chairman. This same person made similar claims some weeks ago. Did he go to court? Did he report to the police? Which secretariat did he even take over? The ADC doesn’t even have a secretariat. There is nothing to respond to,” Abdullahi said.
He also accused the media of giving a platform to “baseless claims” and said the party would not be giving the matter any more attention.
Reacting to the drama, the APC’s Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, mocked the ADC’s problems, saying they showed the party was weak.
“The opposition is supposed to manage its affairs responsibly. If the ADC does not know how to play opposition politics or unite its members, it can come and learn from the APC. We have the Progressive Institute, a place where people can actually learn politics,” Ibrahim said.
He denied that the APC was involved in causing problems for the ADC, saying the ruling party was focused on delivering President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The APC cannot condescend to the level of creating problems for an opposition party that is daily losing grip on political activities. In the recent by-elections, out of 16 contested seats, APC won 13. The ADC could not win even one. Clearly, it is not a force to reckon with,” he said.
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