Former National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Ralph Nwosu, has blamed the perceived factional leadership crisis in the party on desperation on the side of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He specifically alleged that the officials of the ruling party and unnamed governors were trying to arm-twist the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) and giving out money as if it were ”financial bazaar” to former members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of ADC that tendered their resignation letters before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting monitored by officials of INEC’s Department of Election Monitoring.

In an interview with THISDAY, Nwosu said: “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 as 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.

On the claim by Nafiu Bala that he is the Interim National Chairman of the ADC, Nwosu described him as an impostor who joined the party in May 2022 to contest for the Bauchi State governorship election.

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 North-east, it was agreed that he should be the Secretary from the North-east, 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 mobilising Nigerians for the coalition party,” Nwosu explained.

Also reacting to the opposition mounted by the presidential candidate of the ADC in the 2023 general election, Dumebi Kachikwu, against the adoption of the party by the opposition coa’ition, Nwosu stated that being the party’s presidential candidate did not confer Kachikwu the right of ownership of the structures of the party.

According to Nwosu, Kachikwu joined the party in 2022 and contested the presidential primary election, where he defeated 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 destabilise 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. (THISDAY, excluding headline)