ADC Faction Leader Nafiu Bala Denies Authenticity of Resignation Letter, Claims Signature Was Falsified

Nafiu Bala, the factional national chairman of the African Democratic Congress, has vehemently denied claims that he stepped down as deputy national chairman, asserting that the resignation letter circulating in the public domain did not originate from him and that the signature appended to it is a forgery.

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This denial was made in a video released by Rariya Hausa, in which Bala responded to the Independent National Electoral Commission's stance on the ADC's lingering leadership crisis, as announced on Wednesday.

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Bala explicitly distanced himself from the document in question, which purportedly showed his resignation as national vice chairman on May 17, 2025, stating that the paper did not come from him and the signature on it was not his.

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He declared, "I wish to state that this paper did not come from me, and that is not my signature on it, the signature you see there was forged," thereby refuting any connection to the resignation letter.

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Bala's emergence as acting national chairman, he explained, was a result of the resignation of the party's former leadership, which occurred on July 2 when former ADC chairman Ralph Nwosu publicly announced that he, his secretary, and other party leaders were stepping down from their positions.

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According to Bala, on the same day, Nwosu informed the public that he, along with other individuals, would continue to manage the party's affairs until the national convention, as he recounted the events that unfolded on July 2.

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Bala cited the party's constitution as the basis for his assumption of the chairmanship role, stating, "Because of that, I am resuming office today as the ADC national chairman, according to our party constitution, when there is no leader, the deputy takes over."

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He established a clear standard for authenticating any future communication from him, warning that any document not bearing his official letterhead should not be attributed to him, and emphasized that as deputy national chairman, he would only use his official letterhead for important documents.

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Bala stated, "When I was deputy national chairman, if I were to write a resignation letter, I would do it using my official letterhead, any letter not containing my letterhead is not from me," to clarify the authentication process for his official communications.

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This is not the first instance of Bala rejecting the resignation letter, as he had previously dismissed the document as "entirely false, deceptive, malicious and fake" on August 1, 2025.

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His denial has deepened the complex leadership dispute with former Senate President David Mark, who maintains that Bala's resignation was genuine and was duly transmitted to INEC on August 12, 2025, four months before Bala approached a Federal High Court in Abuja on September 2, 2025, seeking recognition as acting national chairman.

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The ongoing litigation between both factions had earlier prompted INEC to withdraw its recognition of the party and delist the names of the Mark executive from its portal, highlighting the severity of the dispute.

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However, on March 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mark's jurisdictional challenge in its entirety, describing it as incompetent and unmeritorious, a ruling that handed Bala's faction a significant legal victory in the ongoing tussle.