By Abigail David
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 general election after defeating Rotimi Amaechi and former banker Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the party’s primary election.
The result was announced on Wednesday night at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Abuja, where the party leadership led by David Mark presented the ADC flag to Atiku.
According to the official result, Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen received 177,120 votes.
A breakdown of the figures showed Atiku led Amaechi by 1,342,253 votes and defeated Hayatu-Deen by 1,669,250 votes.
The ADC began its presidential primary process on May 25, with members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory participating in the exercise.
The party adopted the direct primary method after all three aspirants declined calls to step down for a consensus candidate. An affirmation process had earlier been considered before the direct primary option was adopted in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
Following his victory, Atiku called for unity within the party and appealed to Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to work together in strengthening the ADC ahead of the 2027 election.
