Hayatu-Deen, Amaechi Reject ADC Presidential Primary Results

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ABUJA – Mohammed Hayatu-Deen and Rotimi Amaechi, presidential aspirants on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Tuesday, rejected the outcome of the party’s presiden­tial primaries, describing the re­sults announced as “concocted” and inconsistent with democrat­ic principles.

Hayatu-Deen, in a statement obtained from his X handle on Tuesday in Abuja, expressed concern over reports of wide­spread vote rigging during the exercise.

He stated that some of the alleged irregularities were per­sonally observed by him during voting.

The presidential aspirant said he would seek advice on his next line of action follow­ing the reported irregularities surrounding the conduct of the ADC presidential primary election.

“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 seeking advice on my next steps,” he said.

The ADC conducted its presidential primary election on Monday across the country to elect the party’s candidate for the 2027 general elections.

Similarly, former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant of the ADC, Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the out­come of the party’s presidential primaries.

Amaechi made his position known in a statement posted on his X platform on Tuesday, following the conclusion of the ADC presidential primaries across the country.

The former Rivers State gov­ernor alleged that the exercise was marred by widespread vot­er disenfranchisement, claim­ing that a large percentage of party members were denied the opportunity to participate in the process.

“I unequivocally reject the concocted results being an­nounced,” Amaechi stated.

He recalled that he had earli­er pledged to accept the outcome of the primaries only if the pro­cess was free, fair, and transpar­ent, insisting that the conduct of the election failed to meet those standards.

“I had initially stated that I will only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, and I stand by my word,” he said.

Amaechi argued that the ex­ercise did not reflect the values the ADC claimed to represent as an opposition platform seek­ing to provide Nigerians with an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, “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 further accused the party leadership of engaging in prac­tices similar to those it had con­sistently criticised in the ruling APC and the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC).

“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 that lead to the disenfranchise­ment of voters who are party members,” he said.

Amaechi maintained that the vision behind the ADC was to provide a credible platform capable of amplifying the voic­es of ordinary Nigerians and rescuing the country from what he described as “impunity and gross mismanagement.”

“The whole idea of the ADC was to give the Nigerian peo­ple a platform, to amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and make Nigeria a better place for everyone irrespective of back­grounds, ethnicity, or religion,” he added.

The former minister’s rejec­tion of the results is expected to heighten tensions within the ADC as the party prepares for the 2027 general elections.

The aspirants include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and economist and former banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.