Bala Moves Against ADC, Demands Suspension of Nomination Form Sales

On Friday in Abuja, a faction of the African Democratic Congress led by Nafiu Bala asked the party leadership under former Senate President David Mark to immediately stop the sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms until the Federal High Court concludes the ongoing leadership dispute involving the party.

The directive was announced in a statement released by the Secretary of the party’s Board of Trustees, Rufus Akanmi, after a meeting held by the faction’s leadership on Thursday.

The group warned party members and interested aspirants against purchasing nomination forms during the period of uncertainty, stating that anyone who proceeds with such payments would do so at personal risk because the party would not take responsibility for any outcome connected to the process.

The faction also praised the recent Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 30 regarding the leadership dispute, describing the ruling as important to constitutional order and internal party democracy.

It further called on members of the coalition within the party and those aligned with David Mark to work together with the Nafiu Bala-led camp in order to avoid deeper divisions ahead of future elections.

According to the group, unity within the party is necessary to prepare properly for the coming general elections and to ensure the emergence of candidates at state, local government and ward levels. The faction also directed the National Working Committee to set up caretaker committees in states where the tenure of existing executives has expired so party activities can continue smoothly at the grassroots.

In addition, the group instructed the party leadership to begin arrangements for a mini national convention to fill vacant positions created by the resignation of some National Working Committee members.

Meanwhile, the leadership crisis suffered another delay at the Federal High Court in Abuja after Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case indefinitely following an application by the plaintiff seeking transfer of the matter to another judge.

During proceedings, counsel to the plaintiff, Luka Musa Haruna, informed the court that the Supreme Court had dismissed an interlocutory appeal earlier filed by David Mark and also removed the order stopping proceedings in the main suit. He also informed the court that the plaintiff had already written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting reassignment of the case.

Lawyers representing the defendants strongly opposed the request and accused the plaintiff of trying to delay the hearing. Counsel to the first defendant, Realwan Okpanachi, argued that the defence was not informed about the application and described the move as unfair.

Other defence lawyers, including Sulaiman Usman and P.I. Oyewole, also criticised the request and accused the plaintiff of attempting to influence the judicial process through judge shopping.

In his ruling, Justice Nwite stated that the court could not take any decision concerning the request without allowing all parties to respond. He explained that since the letter was addressed to the Chief Judge, the trial court could not make comments on it until further directives were issued.

The judge then adjourned the matter indefinitely to allow parties obtain certified copies of the Supreme Court judgment, serve all parties with the transfer application, and await further administrative action from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.