Gombe made the announcement during a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, describing the ongoing turmoil as an “unprecedented assault on democracy” allegedly orchestrated by what he called “political hooligans.”
He accused former leaders of the party of neglecting their constitutional duties and ceding control of the ADC to influential outsiders with no genuine ties to the party.
Calling for urgent intervention, Gombe urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to formally recognize the leadership change under his stewardship, stating that doing so would safeguard the integrity of the ADC’s constitution.
Declaring himself, Gombe said, “I, Honourable Nafiu Bala, a bonafide member and a duly elected National Deputy Chairman of our great party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), wishes to draw the attention of the entire members of our great party and Nigerians at large, to the ongoing acts of political hooliganism being perpetrated by some individuals who were hitherto entrusted with the leadership of the party.
“We are all living witnesses to the show of shame and acts of lawlessness being displayed by these unscrupulous leaders, who without any qualm or sense of moral restraint, plunged our party to a needless crisis and leadership uncertainty.
“The idea of mortgaging the future of our great party, by abdicating the constitutional duties and responsibilities of all elected officers of the party, to some powerful outsiders who never belong to the party, is condemnable.
”Recently, the nation woke up only to be greeted by a shoddily rehearsed political melodrama, in which elected roles were switched with certain groups of political strangers in order to facilitate the complete takeover of the party structures and its political appurtenances.
