Atiku Leads ADC Presidential Primaries as Amaechi and Hayatu‑Deen Reject Results

Former Vice‑President Atiku Abubakar is on track to win the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, holding a substantial lead over his rivals according to results from several states.

Atiku is vying for the party’s 2027 presidential ticket alongside former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and economist Mohammed Hayatu‑Deen, as the ADC seeks to challenge President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

So far, the party’s collation centre at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja has reported a strong performance for Atiku.

In Kebbi State, Atiku received 65,523 votes, while Amaechi garnered 5,931 and Hayatu‑Deen 454.

In Anambra State, Atiku tallied 58,566 votes, compared with Amaechi’s 17,085 and Hayatu‑Deen’s 7,861.

Abia State also favored Atiku, who secured 25,153 votes; Amaechi obtained 18,339 and Hayatu‑Deen 2,264.

In Ekiti State, Atiku polled 18,395 votes, defeating Amaechi’s 1,574 and Hayatu‑Deen’s 149.

Both Amaechi and Hayatu‑Deen have questioned the credibility of the primary, citing alleged irregularities.

Hayatu‑Deen announced he would boycott the official announcement of the results, claiming widespread vote rigging and manipulation during the exercise.

In a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, the presidential aspirant 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 observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”

Responding to the allegation, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi said the party had not seen sufficient evidence to confirm or dismiss Hayatu‑Deen’s claims.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Abdullahi noted that the party was still awaiting results from several states before completing collation.

“We don’t have any evidence to be able to support his position or to deny his position because we’ve not collated the results,” he said. “We’ve not noticed any pattern in the result, and we’ve not seen enough to be able to establish a pattern. Eleven states’ results have been received so far. We are still awaiting other results. Any moment from now we are going to start the collation.”

Amaechi had earlier dismissed the results as “concocted,” alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement in various parts of the country. He argued that the ADC was created to offer Nigerians a credible alternative political platform and should not be linked to the electoral malpractice it criticises in other parties.

The ADC presidential primaries were monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission nationwide.

Collation of results from additional states was still underway at the party’s national collation centre in Abuja as of press time.