Politics
2027 Polls: ADC Declares Atiku Winner Of Presidential Primary
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election after winning the party’s nationwide direct primary election.
The party announced that Atiku secured 1,846,370 votes to defeat his closest rival and former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who polled 504,117 votes. Businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen came third with 177,120 votes.
Voting was conducted across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards using the Option A4 system, where party members openly queued behind their preferred aspirants.
In his acceptance speech, Atiku praised the ADC for what he described as a transparent democratic process, saying the exercise proved that democracy remains active within the opposition party.
“We demonstrated that while democracy is being strangled and squashed by its ruling party and its operatives, democracy is alive and well in the African Democratic Congress,” Atiku stated.
The National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, said the party ensured a free contest and allowed members to make their choice without interference.
According to him, although the exercise was not perfect, it reflected the party’s commitment to internal democracy and provided room for future improvements.
“The aspirants were all qualified to lead the country, but only one person could emerge as the party’s flag bearer,” Mark said.
However, the outcome of the primary has sparked controversy within the party, as both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen rejected the results over allegations of irregularities and voter disenfranchisement.
Amaechi, a former Minister of Transportation, described the results as “concocted” and alleged that many party members were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi wrote on X.
Similarly, Hayatu-Deen announced that he would not attend the official declaration of results, citing widespread vote rigging and irregularities observed during the process.
“I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps,” he said in a statement.
Atiku and Amaechi joined the ADC in July 2025 as part of a broader opposition coalition seeking to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election.
Other opposition figures, including former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, were initially linked to the coalition before Obi later moved to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) alongside former Kano State governor Musa Kwankwaso.
With the conclusion of the primary election, Atiku will now lead the ADC into the 2027 presidential race as the party positions itself as a major opposition platform ahead of the polls.
