A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, waited in vain until dawn on Tuesday for a scheduled meeting with Nafiu Bala, a factional leader within the party, to resolve the lingering crisis plaguing the opposition party. The meeting, which was expected to produce a roadmap for reconciling warring factions, collapsed entirely after Bala failed to show up.
Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, expressed deep disappointment over the development, describing it as a squandered opportunity for what he termed “fatherly counsel.” Speaking in an interview with DCL Hausa, Kwankwaso revealed that he had remained in place throughout the night, expecting Bala to arrive for talks aimed at stabilising the ADC ahead of next year’s general election.
“Yesterday, right up until dawn, I was waiting for Nafiu Bala, but he didn’t come. People later told me he would not come. I wasn’t happy about it,” Kwankwaso said. He used a local metaphor to caution the absent politician, warning that Bala should not “turn into the lizard at the mouth of the pot” – a proverb that warns against reckless behaviour that invites danger.
Kwankwaso noted that he had researched Bala’s background and discovered that the factional leader was born in 1990, making him relatively young in political terms. “He is still young and has a lot to learn,” Kwankwaso stated. He appealed to influential figures close to Bala, including the Emir of Gombe, to guide the younger politician properly and prevent him from making further political missteps.
The former governor warned Bala against sowing further discord within the ADC, stressing that such actions would ultimately harm the party and the young politician himself. “Whoever sees him should advise him to remove his hand from bringing problems to the ADC. People close to him must advise him and call him to order,” Kwankwaso said.
The collapse of the meeting comes amid an escalating leadership crisis within the ADC. In a separate development, a new faction has emerged from the party’s National Executive Committee, disassociating itself from both the David Mark-led executive and the Nafiu Bala faction. The new group, which claims to be on a rescue mission to ensure the party’s participation in next year’s elections, has constituted its own leadership structure with Temitope Ogga from Kogi State as chairman and Odiom Kennedy from Edo State as secretary.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State chapter of the ADC has condemned the continued detention of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who has been held since February 17 by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission over corruption allegations. The party alleged that El-Rufai is a victim of politically motivated persecution, pointing to what it described as a coordinated attempt to weaken opposition voices through abuse of state institutions.
Kwankwaso’s failed meeting with Nafiu Bala represents a significant setback for efforts to unify the ADC ahead of the elections. With the party now fractured into at least three identifiable factions, political observers note that the window for meaningful reconciliation is rapidly closing. As of the time of this report, Nafiu Bala had not issued any public statement explaining his absence from the scheduled meeting.
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