‘That’s not my signature’ – Nafiu Bala denounces forged resignation letter amid ADC crisis

Nafiu Bala, a factional leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has formally rejected a circulating resignation letter as a forgery, reasserting his authority as the party’s acting national chairman following a leadership dispute addressed by INEC.

Nafiu Bala, the factional national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has categorically rejected reports claiming he resigned from his previous position as deputy national chairman. In a video published by Rariya Hausa on Friday, April 3, 2026, Bala addressed a document circulating in the wake of an INEC resolution regarding the party’s leadership crisis, which alleged he had stepped down on May 17, 2025. Denouncing the document as a total fabrication, Bala stated, “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.” He emphasized that any legitimate resignation would have been issued on his official letterhead, declaring, “Any letter not containing my letterhead is not from me.”

Bala clarified that his emergence as the acting national chairman was a direct result of the voluntary exit of the party’s former leadership during a public event on July 2, 2025. According to his account, the former chairman, Ralph Nwosu, announced his resignation alongside the national secretary and other top officials, naming Bala as part of the team to manage party affairs until a national convention could be held. “On that same day, he told the world that I, along with other people, would continue running the party affairs until the national convention,” Bala noted. He maintained that his current role is a constitutional necessity, asserting, “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.”

This latest development marks a continuation of Bala’s long-standing battle against what he describes as “malicious” attempts to sideline him from the party hierarchy. On August 1, 2025, he had similarly issued a denial of the authorship of the resignation letter, dismissing the document at the time as “entirely false, deceptive, malicious and fake.” The ongoing dispute highlights the deep-seated divisions within the ADC as factional leaders scramble for legitimacy following INEC’s recent administrative adjustments. As of Friday morning, the electoral commission has not issued a fresh statement regarding the validity of the forged signature claims or the specific constitutional succession cited by the Bala-led faction.

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