Ralph Nwosu, founder and pioneer national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has alleged that Nafiu Bala, a former deputy national chairman of the party, experienced a dramatic change in his lifestyle after instituting legal action over the party’s leadership dispute.
Nwosu made the allegation during an interview with Lagos Talks on Wednesday, claiming that Bala previously relied on him and other party members for transport money to attend meetings in Abuja.
According to him, Bala would often request N50,000 for bus fare and sometimes had to wait after the meeting to collect money again, before returning home after meetings.
Nwosu, however, claimed that Bala’s circumstances changed after he approached the court in September 2025, alleging that the former party official began staying in an expensive hotel, moving with security operatives and using multiple bulletproof SUVs.
He said: “This Bala, he went to court in September; we concluded the process in July, and from that September, he started living in one of the biggest hotels; he started moving around with security. He got bulletproof SUVs, more than three, moving with security.”
“Before then, when I invite Bala for a meeting in Abuja, he cannot come until I send him either N50,000 to take a bus to come for a meeting, and so on. And he would not leave until we are able to also scratch out money to pay for his transport,” he said.
When asked whether Bala might have acquired the security arrangements out of fear for his safety, Nwosu questioned the cost of the vehicles, claiming that some SUVs were worth more than N500 million.
He also accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of interfering in the ADC’s internal affairs, alleging that the government was working to undermine the opposition party.
Nwosu claimed that he possessed recordings in which the president’s chief of staff allegedly encouraged some individuals to remain within the ADC and work towards its destruction.
“We have tapes where the chief of staff to the president was telling some people to stay in ADC and destroy it,” he said.
The ADC founder maintained that the party had completed its internal leadership process in July 2025, before Bala filed his suit two months later.
He further accused the current administration of using financial inducements to weaken opposition politicians and political parties, alleging that individuals who initially reject such offers are approached with increasingly larger sums.
Nwosu said the alleged efforts had not succeeded in changing his position, insisting that he would not abandon his commitment to the party.
He added that the political pressure surrounding the ADC was linked to his refusal to yield to the alleged attempts to undermine its leadership.
The allegations come against the backdrop of an extended leadership dispute within the ADC, involving the faction led by former Senate President David Mark and Bala.
In September 2025, Bala approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order restraining Mark and other members of the party’s interim leadership from presenting themselves as its national officers.
His suit challenged the emergence of Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary following Nwosu’s resignation.
In a judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, Justice Peter Lifu nullified the Mark-led caretaker committee and invalidated its decisions. These included the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The court also held that a resignation letter purportedly signed by Bala did not constitute genuine evidence that he had relinquished his position as deputy national chairman.
Meanwhile, the Mark-led ADC faction had expelled Bala and some other members in April 2026 over allegations of anti-party activities.
