ADC Primary: Atiku Opens Massive Lead as Results Trickle In

Amaechi vows to accept result if process is transparent

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has established a commanding lead in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary as results from across the country continue to trickle in.

Meanwhile former Rivers State Governor and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who also in the race, has declared he will accept the outcome only if the process is transparent and credible.

The ADC presidential primary is being conducted simultaneously across 8,809 wards nationwide, with three million and forty-four digitally registered voters determining the party’s flagbearer for the 2027 general election.

Results from four states have been officially announced so far. In Sokoto State, Atiku polled 68,823 votes, while Mohammed Hayatu-Deen secured 319 votes and Rotimi Amaechi got 292 votes. In Zamfara State, Atiku won with 60,500 votes, followed by Amaechi with 191 votes and Hayatu-Deen with 146 votes.

In Yobe State, Atiku recorded 44,841 votes, Hayatu-Deen polled 365 votes, and Amaechi got 300 votes. In Ebonyi State, Amaechi emerged winner with 6,050 votes, Hayatu-Deen followed with 4,840 votes, while Atiku secured 1,210 votes. Partial early returns from Bolewa and Potiskum wards in Yobe State also showed Atiku polling 740 votes against Amaechi’s 15 and Hayatu-Deen’s two votes.

The former Vice President, who cast his vote at Ajiya Ward Polling Unit in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State, applauded the conduct of the primary election. In a post on X, he stated that the outcome of the exercise would help Nigeria recover.

Amaechi, who voted at his Ubima Ward in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, said he hoped the system would be transparent across the country.

“I hope that the system will be transparent as it was in my village. If it is transparent, I will accept the result. Because from the ward, what I believe is that if the primary is free and fair, nobody is going to react. But if the regime is not free and fair, a lot of us will react,” Amaechi said.

When asked whether he would support another aspirant if he loses, he replied: “The answer is yes, if the other person wins, I will work with him but if the process is not free and fair, I would question it.”

Mohammed Hayatu-Deen cast his vote in his hometown of Jare, Borno State. In a post on his social media handle, the former Central Bank deputy governor and economist declared that both Nigeria and the ADC stand at critical crossroads.

“Today I cast my vote in Jare, Borno, in the ADC presidential primary. I am running because if we are to defeat the President next year, we must offer Nigerians a new direction. Nigeria is at a crossroads. And the ADC is at a crossroads. I am ready to lead our party and our country to a safer and more prosperous future for all Nigerians,” he wrote.

Chairman of the ADC presidential primary election committee, Chief Ikechi Emenike, said the party has embraced a credible democratic process that gives every qualified aspirant an equal opportunity to present their vision and earn the support of party members across the country.

“Unlike the culture of imposition, consensus manipulation and predetermined outcomes that have become prevalent in contemporary political parties, the ADC has embraced a credible democratic process,” Emenike said.

He noted that what differentiates ADC from other parties in Nigeria is that it is the only party blessed with three eminently qualified aspirants who are capable of piloting the affairs of the country at this most difficult time.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, confirmed that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are supervising all the primaries at all levels, including the presidential primary.

“The name of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola are on INEC website. As we speak, officials of the commission are monitoring all the presidential primary elections,” Abdullahi said.

Results from the remaining 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory are still being collated. The ADC has mounted a digital electronic signpost for the collation of results at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, with results being certified by the presidential committee before announcement.

The party has announced that the winner will be declared once all results are certified, with the process expected to culminate in a Special National Convention planned for May 27.