ADC primary in turmoil as Amaechi rejects Atiku win
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Former Rivers State Governor and presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress, Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary election, describing the results collated from across the country as “concocted.”
Amaechi, one of the three contenders for the ADC presidential ticket alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, announced his position in a statement posted on his verified X handle, @ChibuikeAmaechi.
The former Minister of Transportation alleged that widespread voter disenfranchisement marred the exercise conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on Monday.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced.
“I had initially stated that I will only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, and I stand by my word. I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he wrote.
Amaechi further claimed that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to participate in the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty per cent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results. Then what makes us different from the others?” he asked.
The former governor said the ADC was founded on the premise of offering Nigerians a credible political alternative and warned against practices capable of undermining the party’s integrity.
“The whole idea of the ADC was to give the Nigerian people a platform, to amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and make Nigeria a better place for everyone irrespective of backgrounds, ethnicity, or religion.
“A party that criticises the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable,” he stated.
Amaechi’s rejection of the exercise came barely four hours after fellow aspirant Hayatu-Deen announced his decision to boycott the final collation and declaration ceremony in Abuja over alleged widespread irregularities.
On his part, Hayatu-Deen boycotted the collation and declaration ceremony citing alleged vote rigging.
Taking to his verified X handle, @Mohayatudeen, the economist-turned-politician said, “I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself (sic) observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
However, Hayatu-Deen did not pointedly name those behind the rigging.
Atiku coasts home
As of the time of filing this report, Atiku was clearly ahead of the two other contestants going by the results collated from some states of the federation.
Of the 24 states and FCT results announced late Tuesday night, before the party officials went on break, Atiku won in 22 states and the FCT while Amaechi managed victory in two states.
The development has cast a shadow over the credibility of the exercise and may trigger fresh tensions within the opposition party at a time it is seeking to position itself as a major force ahead of the 2027 general election.
Despite the protests by two of the contestants, collation of results continued on Tuesday at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, where Returning Officers from across the country arrived to submit figures from the state primaries.
As of the time of filing this report, Atiku was maintaining a strong lead after reportedly winning in more than eleven states, including Sokoto, Zamfara, Gombe, Yobe and Abia.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission were also present at the venue to monitor the exercise.
The ADC leadership had yet to officially respond to the allegations raised by Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen as of press time.
Former Vice President Atiku won overwhelmingly in many states, including Ekiti, where he polled 18,395 votes to beat Amaechi who polled 1,574 and Hayatu-Deen who garnered 149 votes.
In the FCT, Atiku polled 18,704 votes, Amaechi 14,721 while Hayatu-Deen garnered 5,575.
In Gombe State, the results were announced by the Returning Officer, Mr David Aku. According to him, Atiku secured 136,933 votes, Amaechi 1,141 votes while Hayatu-Deen polled 455 votes.
Atiku also recorded a great showing in Enugu where he got 33,879 votes, leaving Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen in second and third places with 15,127 and 669 votes respectively.
Others include Benue where Atiku polled 55,177, Amaechi 30,881 and Hayatu-Deen 22,141 votes.
Also in Abia, Atiku got got 25,153 votes, Amaechi 18,339 and Hayatu-Deen 2,264.
In Yobe, Atiku garnered 44,841 votes, Amaechi 300 and Hayatu-Deen 365 votes.
Atiku polled 18,287 votes in Ondo while Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen secured 6,031 and 875 votes respectively
Atiku also won the presidential primary in Edo State, defeating Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen. According to the returning officer, Atiku secured 17,729 votes, while Amaechi polled 10,116 votes and Hayatu-Deen got 1,906 votes. The party described the exercise as peaceful, free, and credible, with officials praising its transparency and orderly conduct.
Other results announced showed that the ex-VP won in his home state Adamawa with 177,141votes with Hayatu-Deen (18,949 votes) and Amaechi (1,896) in distant second and third positions respectively.
In Zamfara, Atiku-60, 500 also emerged victorious with 60,500 votes while Hayatu-Deen-and Amaechi polled 446 and 191 respectively.
It was same story in Borno as Atiku polled 86,084 to triumph while Hayatu-Deen came second with 3,011 votes. Amaechi managed 2,493 votes.
In Osun, Atiku led with 12, 321votes, Hayatu-Deen had 4,558 and Amaechi ended in third place with 72 votes.
Atiku then had an unassailable lead in Kano, polling 155,595 with Hayatu-Deen trailing in distant second with 15,914 votes while Amaechi had 9,994.
However, Amaechi won in Akwa Ibom State with 20,343 with Atiku claiming 17,623 votes and Hayatu-Deen 2,054 votes.
Amaechi also won in Ebonyi with 6,400 votes, Hayatu-Deen emerged second with 4,840 votes while Atiku was third with 1,210 votes.
In Taraba Atiku claimed 48,351votes, Amaechi 25,150 votes and Hayatu-Deen 8,369 votes while in Nasarawa the former VP also led with 41, 649 votes, Amaechi polled 13,656 and Hayatu-Deen had 6,774 votes.
In Imo, Atiku had 52,222 votes, Amaechi 7,659 votes and Hayatu-Deen 1,121 votes.
Atiku also emerged victorious in Oyo with 23,011, Amaechi had 1,553 votes and Hayatu-Deen polled 568 votes.
In Anambra, Atiku led with 58,566 votes, Amaechi had 17,085 votes and Hayatu-Deen 7,861 votes.
Again, it was Atiku, with 65,523 votes, the winner in Kebbi while Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen polled 5,931 and 454 votes respectively.
In Sokoto, Atiku claimed victory with 63,823 votes, Hayatu-Deen had 319 and Amaechi 292.
Atiku claimed victory in Niger with 79,206 votes, Hayatu-Deen second with 15,840 votes and Amaechi polled 10,560 while in Plateau, the ex-VP also emerged winner with 47,558 votes. Amaechi was second with 13,494 votes and Hayatu-Deen secured 3,330 votes.
The ceremony was attended by the ADC National Chairman Sen David Mark, party leaders including Sen Tunde Ogbeha, and former Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, among others.
Party intervenes
Meanwhile, the ADC urged Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to channel their grievances through established party structures and statutory electoral processes rather than making public allegations.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said there was no evidence at present to support claims that the ongoing presidential primary was rigged in favour of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Abdullahi said the collation of results was still ongoing, making it impossible to confirm or dismiss allegations raised by some aspirants.
The ADC conducted a nationwide direct primary on Monday to select its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Although the party was yet to officially announce final results as at the time of filing this report, from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, early figures indicate Atiku was leading, followed by Amaechi, while Mohammed Hayatu-Deen is in third position.
However, Abdullahi maintained that no conclusive evidence had emerged to substantiate the claims, noting that collation was still in progress.
“We currently do not have sufficient evidence to either support or dismiss those claims. Since the results are still being collated, we have not observed any clear pattern that would substantiate such allegations,” he said.
He explained that the party has established internal and statutory mechanisms for addressing complaints and urged aggrieved aspirants to make use of them.
“At this stage, we do not have enough information to conclusively say whether the allegations are true or false. We expect to have a clearer picture by the end of the day,” he added.
He also addressed reports of a parallel faction within the party, stating that the ADC leadership remains unperturbed by such developments.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission recognises the current National Working Committee, which he said remains responsible for the ongoing congresses and primaries.
“The party leadership is not disturbed by the claims. INEC is fully aware of who is conducting the legitimate convention of the African Democratic Congress, and under the law, the genuine organisers are clearly recognised,” he said.
He added that INEC officials have been present throughout the party’s electoral processes, from House of Assembly primaries to governorship, National Assembly, and presidential primaries.
“INEC has attended and monitored all our congresses and primary elections across the 36 states and the FCT. Every stage of the process has been fully documented by INEC officials,” he said.
Abdullahi further expressed confidence that the presence of electoral officials at the collation centre would continue, noting that the party had no concerns about oversight or legitimacy.
