Rotimi Amaechi rejected the African Democratic Congress presidential primary results on Tuesday, alleging that widespread disenfranchisement and vote buying had distorted the contest held a day earlier.
The former minister said he would only accept a process that was free, fair and transparent, and accused the party of announcing “concocted results” after what he said was a flawed exercise. He said about 80 percent of party members were not allowed to vote.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi said. He added that a party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results could not engage in the same practices and still expect his acceptance.
Mohammed Hayatu-Deen also pulled out of the exercise over alleged irregularities. He said he would not attend the announcement of the ADC presidential election results in Abuja on Tuesday, citing reports of widespread vote rigging from across the country and what he said he had observed himself.
The primary was held on Monday, with collation taking place in Abuja and results expected from across the country. The vote was spread across 8,809 wards nationwide, making turnout and access central to the outcome. Amaechi had been one of three contenders for the ticket alongside Atiku Abubakar and Hayatu-Deen.
Atiku voted at Ajiya ward in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa state, and called the turnout a sign that party members were willing to participate in internal democratic processes. He said the primary was a major step in the effort to recover Nigeria and set it on a path of prosperity.
The dispute lands at a sensitive moment for the party because the primary was meant to settle its 2027 presidential race, but instead it has exposed a deeper split over who can claim legitimacy from the process. That argument now matters as much as the result itself.
Separately, the party in Niger state passed a resolution adopting Atiku as its candidate for the 2027 election without holding a vote, with leadership and members across 25 local governments and 274 wards endorsing the decision.
