Nafiu Bala begged for N50k fare to attend meetings — he now rides in bulletproof SUVs, Ralph Nwosu alleges

Ralph Nwosu, founder and pioneer national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says Nafiu Bala, a former deputy national chairman of the party, often asked for N50,000 bus fare to attend meetings in Abuja.

In an interview on Wednesday with Lagos Talks, a radio station, Nwosu alleged that Bala’s lifestyle changed after he approached the court over the party’s leadership dispute in September 2025.

He claimed that Bala began residing in an expensive hotel, moving with security personnel and using bulletproof sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

“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,” he said.

Asked whether Bala may have acquired the vehicles because he feared for his safety, Nwosu said: “Yeah, and then you can buy an SUV that is costing over N500 million. And so on?”

The ADC founder said Bala previously depended on him and other party members for bus fare whenever he was invited to meetings in Abuja.

“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.

Nwosu also alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is interested in the party’s internal crisis, claiming that the leadership dispute began after Bala approached the court.

“We have tapes where the chief of staff to the president was telling some people to stay in ADC and destroy it,” he said.

He maintained that the party had concluded its internal leadership process in July, before Bala filed his court case in September.

He alleged that the Tinubu administration is prepared to use financial inducements to weaken opposition figures and parties.

“As far as the incumbent government is concerned, their philosophy is: if you give them N1 billion and they say no, you can top it to N10 billion until they are able to collapse,” he said.

Nwosu said the alleged attempts had failed to break his resolve, adding that the government’s actions were responsible for the political pressure surrounding the party.

“And they were not able to do it with this man — Ralph Okey Nwosu, and that is what is causing their pain and all they are doing. But I can assure you and all Nigerians, this will not succeed,” he said.

BACK STORY

The allegations come amid a prolonged leadership dispute within the ADC involving a faction led by David Mark and Bala.

Bala approached the federal high court in Abuja in September 2025, seeking to stop Mark and other members of the party’s interim leadership from parading themselves as its national officers.

The suit challenged the emergence of Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary after Nwosu stepped down.

In a judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, Peter Lifu, a federal high court judge, nullified the Mark-led caretaker committee and invalidated its decisions, including the process that produced Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

The court also ruled that a resignation letter allegedly signed by Bala was not genuine proof that he had relinquished his position as deputy national chairman.

TheCable had earlier reported that the ADC faction led by Mark expelled Bala and other members over alleged anti-party activities in April 2026. (TheCable)