By Ademu Idakwo, Abuja; Francis Okoye, Maiduguri; Aza Msue, Kaduna; Damilola Origbemisuyi, Akure; Okechukwu Obeta, Awka; Anayo Onukwugha, Port Harcourt; Nnamdi Mbawike, Enugu; Ahmed Tahir, Lafia; and Attah Anthony, Jalingo
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, has decried alleged malpractices in the party’s presidential primaries, saying the process fell short of transparency and fairness.
Speaking after the exercise in his ward in Borno State, Hayatu-Deen said he received reports of irregularities from delegates and party stakeholders across several states.
He also stated that he received numerous phone calls urging him to step down for a particular candidate whom he did not name.
He said the complaints undermined confidence in the credibility of the primary and called on the party leadership to address them in order to protect the ADC’s image ahead of 2027.
Besides Hayatu-Deen, the ADC had screened and cleared former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi to contest the party’s presidential ticket ahead of next January’s election.
Hayatu-Deen, a former PDP presidential aspirant, joined the ADC in August 2025 and picked up the party’s presidential nomination form in September. He had previously said he would not step down unless the primary process was transparent.
Speaking yesterday after participating in the primaries, he said: “Today is a momentous day because the ADC presidential primaries are still ongoing. I am just coming from my ward, where the atmosphere is peaceful, and the people assured me they would vote massively for my candidature.
“However, I would like to bring to the attention of the entire country certain malpractices that are ugly and disturbing. First and foremost, I have received a number of phone calls from people asking me to step down for a particular candidate, claiming that my candidature is going to cause problems for the party.
“This should be a free, fair and transparent election. Anybody capable of contesting any office has the right to present himself for service. I have gone through the presidential screening exercise. The ADC has issued a press statement to the effect that Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, Atiku Abubakar, and Rotimi Amaechi have been cleared to contest the primaries.
“It is unimaginable that anybody could be so cheeky as to call me to step down for a particular candidate. For example, in Kaduna State, this morning and this afternoon, when party faithful assembled, they were told that a consensus had been reached and that Mohammed Hayatu-Deen had stepped down.
“In Zaria, where I have a lot of supporters, the election had not yet taken place as of 5 p.m. People were denied their rights. This act is criminal and fraudulent. We are not prepared to tolerate this criminality, and we are going to fight it to the end.”
Hayatu-Deen said the people of Southern Borno assembled in large numbers to vote in the morning. While noting that they voted peacefully, he disclosed that the electoral officers who were supposed to collate the results did not fill in the result sheets and instead walked away, meaning that they went somewhere secluded, as instructed by their principals, to fill in the result sheets in the absence of the voters. We will fight this criminality to the end.
Meanwhile, in Abuja, the ADC insisted that it was the only political party currently conducting a transparent and credible presidential primary process.
The party also challenged the ruling APC to make its membership register public. It dismissed the ruling party’s claim of having 11 million members, saying it was projecting votes for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking with journalists yesterday ahead of preparations for the collation of results from the presidential primaries, chairman of the ADC Presidential Primary Election Committee, Chief Ikechi Emenike, said the ADC had demonstrated a genuine commitment to internal democracy and transparency in the selection of its candidates.
He said every qualified aspirant was given a fair opportunity to canvass support from party members across the country without manipulation or imposition.
“The ADC has embraced a credible democratic process that gives every qualified aspirant equal opportunity to present their vision and earn the support of party members nationwide,” Emenike said.
He took a swipe at the APC over what he described as inflated figures and questionable arithmetic in the electoral process.
“As you can see, we know how to count properly and arithmetically. We are ADC; we will not inflate our registration numbers to deceive Nigerians. When counting votes, we will not jump from three to 30 or from 500 to 1,000,” he stated.
