The factional leader of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Nafiu Gombe Bala, has declared that the party would not allow anyone who is seeking office and is above the age of 55 to run.
ENigeria Newspaper gathered this while monitoring Nafiu Bala’s interview with BBC Hausa, and the factional leader, who claims to be the leader of the party, plegded that the party is on its pathway to a total reform, one of such being giving more youths the opportunity to run for political offices and sacking older candidates in the process.
“Under my leadership, anyone above the age of 55 will not be eligible to contest for office under the ADC,” he said.
“We are giving the youth their rightful chance to lead.”
“It is time to show these elders, some of whom are between 75 and 90 years old, that the era of the youth has arrived,” he added.
Nafiu Bala further slammed the other factional leadership of the party headed by former Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola. He expressed that the embattled leaders have only joined the party in order to hijack it as they do not understand the rules and limitations of the party. As a result, he believed that they are not legitimate members of the party.
“It is necessary for us to speak out. People who are not even members of our party are claiming leadership,” he said.
“Article 9 of our constitution clearly outlines the procedure for becoming a registered member of the ADC.
“One cannot simply receive a membership card at an event and be declared a leader. Such an act is a direct violation of our constitutional process. Officially, these individuals are not members of our party because they did not follow due process.”
Bala also clarified that he did not endorse the leadership of David Mark simply because he was available on the unveiling of the party leaders on the 2nd of July, 2025.
“I attended the event, but not with the intention of endorsing David Mark as our leader,” he said.
“My purpose was to support those adopting the ADC as the platform they would join to challenge the current administration.
“The post I made on social media was simply to welcome them and express my willingness to collaborate.”
