Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has rejected the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary, alleging that the process was manipulated and that the majority of party members were prevented from voting.
Amaechi, who contested the primary, made the announcement on Tuesday via his official X account, saying he would not accept the results.
He had previously stated that he would only recognise the outcome if the primary was free, fair, and transparent. In his view, it was none of those things.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he wrote.
Amaechi argued that accepting a flawed outcome would undermine the very reason the ADC was founded. The party, he said, was established to offer Nigerians an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) — one built on accountability and inclusion rather than the electoral abuses that have long plagued Nigerian politics.
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He pointed to what he described as a fundamental contradiction at the heart of the party’s conduct. The ADC has been openly critical of the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over vote-buying, result manipulation, and other electoral malpractices. To engage in similar conduct during its own internal process, he argued, strips the party of any moral standing.
“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,” he said.
Amaechi framed his rejection not simply as a personal grievance, but as a matter of principle tied to the ADC’s founding mission. He said the party was created to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and to rescue the country from the “impunity and gross mismanagement” of the current administration. A primary marred by disenfranchisement, he insisted, betrays that mission entirely.
The ADC has not yet issued a formal response to his allegations.
Amaechi is a prominent figure in Nigerian opposition politics. He served as Governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015 and later as Minister of Transportation under President Muhammadu Buhari. He previously ran for the APC presidential ticket ahead of the 2023 general election before defecting.
His public rejection of the primary result is likely to intensify scrutiny of the ADC’s internal processes at a critical moment in the party’s development.
Nigeria’s 2027 general elections are approaching, and opposition parties have been under pressure to demonstrate that they can offer a credible alternative to the APC.
Will Amaechi challenge the party or quit? That is still up in the air.
