Chief Ralph Nwosu, the previous National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has attributed the perceived factional leadership crisis within the party to the desperation exhibited by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He specifically accused the officials of the ruling party, along with unnamed governors, of attempting to coerce the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and distributing funds as if their supply were boundless to former members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of ADC who submitted their resignation letters prior to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that was observed by officials from INEC’s Department of Election Monitoring.
While engaging in a media discussion, Nwosu stated: : “We are not surprised. This is the level of desperation by senior government officials and the ruling party. Governors in their respective states are doling out money to our former executive members to disrupt the ADC.
“But we are not worried. Rather, our membership is growing increasingly steadily. Without boasting, I can say that ADC membership has increased twice more than any existing party; we are still growing.
“When the Senate and House of Representatives are back from their recess, you will see the level of defections. Some may not openly defect, but in body and soul, they are with us. Why they cannot defect now is due to intimidation. We are the party to beat, and ADC is the government in waiting,” Nwosu added.
The immediate past National Chairman of the ADC disclosed that prior to the adoption of the party by the national opposition, he refused to allow ADC to be used as a multipurpose vehicle by opportunistic politicians to achieve their political ambition, stating that overtures were made to him, but he insisted that those desiring to use ADC as a coalition platform must have the interest of the country at heart.
“We formed ADC as a pan-African political party. It must be Africa-focused, and Nigeria has almost 20 percent of the population of Africa,” Nwosu explained
“They thought I was not going to step down, but I told them that even if they want me to leave my position immediately and become an ordinary floor member, I am ready to do it, but I must see the commitment in them.
“We are not the type of political party that collects money and supports a particular presidential candidate. ADC is not that type of party, and if that is what they want, they should look for another political party.
“From the time ADC was established, the intention was to bring Nigerians together. We made sure ADC is not a platform someone can just use as ‘molue,’ a multi-special purpose vehicle just to contest an election.
“Right from 2007, when we first had Prof. Pat Utomi as our presidential candidate, the intention was to bring all Nigerians together. This time, almost 20 years later, Nigerians have seen why ADC is a party. If there is any party that was tactfully put together, it is ADC.”
Reflecting on past events, Nwosu stated that the political conflict between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, who was the former President of the Senate, prevented him from landing a ministerial appointment in 1999.
Following that disappointment, chief Nwosu disclosed that “I almost wanted to leave politics altogether, but then we decided to form APGA (All Progressive Grand Alliance).”
As the founding National Treasurer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Nwosu is recognized for fostering the party’s development in Anambra State during its early stages. He participated in the APGA governorship primaries for Anambra State in 2023 but was defeated by Peter Obi. Nevertheless, Nwosu maintains that he was unjustly deprived of the party’s governorship nomination in the 2003 APGA primary election.
“I spent my personal money and made APGA what it is in Anambra State. I defeated Peter (Obi at APGA’s primary). But somehow, I was denied the ticket, but what God said will become; nobody can change it,” he consoled himself.
In response to Nafiu Bala’s assertion of being the Interim National Chairman of the ADC, Nwosu rejected the assertion and his claim of assuming the role of Interim National Chairman, deeming it a non-issue.
He emphasized that the decision to accept coalition members into the party was made by the party stakeholders and that the ADC would serve as the platform for the coalition. Nwosu characterized Nafiu Bala as a fraud who became a member of the party in May 2022 with the intention of running for the governorship election in Bauchi State.
According to him, “In May 2025, he resigned as a deputy national chairman, pledging support to the coalition proposals. If he said that he is the deputy national chairman who has been transformed to the acting national chairman, ask him, Deputy National Chairman, from which of the zones?
”By our constitution, we have six deputy national chairmen, each representing one of the six geopolitical zones.
“During discussions for the coalition party, since he is from the Northeast, it was agreed that he should be the secretary from the Northeast, but his colleagues found out that they needed someone with the necessary skills for the job. So, another person was chosen for the post of the zonal secretary. This is where his challenges came from.
“In forming the coalition party, all due processes were followed, and we carried INEC along. That was why when we wrote INEC, the electoral body followed and attended by observing the NEC meeting in Chelsea Hotel, where the National Working Committee was recalled and dissolved. A motion to that effect was moved and duly seconded.
”Nafiu Bala is a bad loser. This is not how to play politics. In May this year, he resigned. His resignation letter is in the public domain. He pledged to support all we did before handing over to Senator David Mark, who is doing a wonderful job in mobilizing Nigerians for the coalition party,” Nwosu explained.
In response to the opposition raised by Dumebi Kachikwu, the presidential candidate of the ADC in the 2023 general election, against the adoption of the party by the opposition coalition, Nwosu remarked that Kachikwu’s position as the party’s presidential candidate did not grant him ownership rights over the party’s structures.
Nwosu further explained that Kachikwu became a member of the party in 2022 and participated in the presidential primary election, where he emerged victorious over George Moghalu.
“But surprisingly, one day he said that the National Working Committee of the party had been dissolved. Who does that? That you are a presidential candidate of a party does not make you the leader of the party,” the former national chairman of ADC explained.
“Before the presidential election, we expelled Kachikwu and asked our members to vote for the Labour Party in the last general election. Go and check the records. Everything is well documented.
”So, we are not surprised by his new turn of events; it’s part of the grand plans to destabilize the ADC. People are trying desperately to disrupt the coalition party, but the train has left the station. The ADC is like the revolution that we are talking about,” the former chairman of ADC stated
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