2027: Nafiu Bala’s ADC Faction Unveils Campaign Council, Names Presidential Candidate Amid Leadership Crisis

ABUJA — The internal leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) took a fresh turn on Sunday, October 25, 2026, as the faction led by Rt. Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe officially unveiled its National Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections.

The faction announced Prof. Chris Uba as its presidential candidate and Dr. Shamsudeen Barkindo as his running mate.

According to an official statement from the party, the newly constituted council will operate out of its national campaign headquarters at No. 4, Miriam Ikejiani Clarke Street, Guzape District, FCT, Abuja.

The faction stated that the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) is tasked with providing strategic leadership, coordinating nationwide campaign structures, and mobilising voters ahead of the polls. The council will work directly under the chairmanship of Gombe, who claims legitimacy as the party’s true national leader.

Deepening Factional Feud

The development highlights the ongoing legal and administrative battle for the soul of the ADC. The party has fractured into parallel power blocs, each claiming to control its official machinery and nomination structures.

Gombe, a former Gombe State gubernatorial candidate, assumed control of his faction following the abrupt resignation of the party’s long-standing leadership. He maintains that he was the only national executive committee member who did not resign, pointing to a Court of Appeal status quo ante bellum order to back his claim to the chairmanship.

Gombe’s loyalists have staged several demonstrations at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja to demand sole administrative access.

However, a rival, high-profile faction led by Senator David Mark has mounted a separate campaign apparatus. Backed by a broader opposition coalition involving heavyweights like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Mark-led faction has set up its own lean campaign council headed by Kashim Ibrahim-Imam and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

The Gombe faction had earlier escalated the administrative warfare by announcing it successfully bypassed rivals to upload its presidential and legislative nominees directly onto the INEC portal. Opposing factions immediately dismissed the portal submissions as fraudulent and unauthorized.

Independent Campaign Network Activated

Disregarding the parallel setups, the Gombe-led faction is advancing with a fully populated campaign directory. Prof. Ahmed Jidda Balarabe has been appointed as the Director-General of the PCC, while Chief Rufus Ikanmi will serve as Vice-Chairman.

The faction also appointed Mrs. Florida Gabriel as Deputy Director-General for the South and Hon. Bala Sani Kumo for the North. Regional mobilization will be steered by six Zonal Coordinators: Engr. Mohammed Abdulkadir Dukku (North-East), Alh. Suleman S. Hassan (North-Central), Hon. Nurudeen Lawal Chindo (North-West), Alh. Abdulwasiu O. Kayode (South-West), Prince Richardson Ifeanyi Obiora (South-East), and Chief Thomas D. Airhiavbere (South-South).

State coordinators have also been assigned across over twenty states—including Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Rivers, and Cross Rivers—as the faction begins a grassroots push to establish political dominance ahead of the 2027 race.