ADC Primary Row Deepens as Msheliza Rejects Babachir Lawal’s Allegation Of Result Manipulation
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Samuel Ogidan
Chairman of the Adamawa State Electoral Committee of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary, Dr. Nicholas Msheliza, has rejected allegations by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, insisting that Lawal was the one who attempted to influence the process in favour of his preferred candidate.
Dr. Msheliza, in a statement said he had initially chosen not to respond publicly to Lawal’s recent remarks, but decided to speak out to correct what he described as misleading claims capable of deceiving the public.
His response followed a publication in NaijaOnPoint on June 3, 2026, in which Babachir Lawal alleged that a returning officer manipulated results from a local government in Adamawa State in favour of Atiku Abubakar, to the detriment of Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, whom he supported. Lawal had claimed that Hayatu-Deen scored 20,000 votes against Atiku’s 1,000, but that the figures were later altered in Abuja. He also alleged that the returning officer defended the adjustment.
In his reply, Msheliza said he was the chairman of the committee deployed to Adamawa for the conduct of the primaries and also the returning officer referenced by Lawal.
He said he was surprised that someone who occupied a senior position in the party, and who often presents himself as a pastor, would accuse others of wrongdoing when, according to him, the facts point in a different direction.
Msheliza said Lawal appeared to misunderstand the role of a returning officer. He explained that the returning officer does not take part in voting or in the actual recording of results, but only receives compiled figures for collation.
According to him, he was therefore not in a position to alter results that had already been generated and forwarded for collation.
For clarity, Msheliza said the local government area mentioned by Lawal was Hong Local Government Area, which is Lawal’s own home local government.
He said the record from Hong showed that Atiku Abubakar polled 11,991 votes, while Hayatu-Deen scored 2,493 votes and Rotimi Amaechi had 377 votes.
Msheliza said that after Lawal became aware of the outcome, he called him and allegedly asked that the result be changed to favour his candidate. He said he declined the request.
He further stated that about an hour after the call, Lawal allegedly dissolved the existing arrangement and put together what he described as a new electoral committee for Hong Local Government Area from Abuja, without consulting him as chairman of the Adamawa State Electoral Committee.
According to Msheliza, that committee went on to conduct what he described as an irregular exercise in Hong, Madagali, Michika and Mubi North local government areas, without ward electoral materials.
He also noted that the original Hong result had already been entered before the new committee appeared with what he described as a fabricated set of figures.
Msheliza said he welcomed Lawal’s claim that he had result sheets to support his allegations, adding that he was challenging him to present those documents for public scrutiny alongside the official result sheets from the Adamawa State Electoral Committee.
He added that in a further statement on the matter, he would provide additional evidence, including what he described as unethical interference, to show how the primary process was allegedly manipulated and how those efforts were resisted in Adamawa State.
Msheliza advised Lawal, if he had grievances with Atiku Abubakar, to pursue them through lawful and appropriate means rather than attempt to discredit a process in which he had been actively involved.
He said Lawal should not, in his view, now seek to undermine the same exercise after being unable to achieve his preferred outcome.
He concluded by saying that instead of stepping back from the controversy, Lawal was now making loud accusations over what he called his inability to justify the resources entrusted to him during the conduct of the primaries.
