Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, has resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alleging that the party’s presidential primaries were rigged in favour of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In a statement titled “The Kachalla Series Part 1” posted on his Facebook page on Monday, Lawal said: “I am exiting the ADC because its just concluded primaries were at all levels massively rigged in favour of Kachalla Abubakar Atiku.”
He added: “Results were just written or rewritten to favour him and his coven. Even where they allowed some semblance of election to hold, the winners were simply replaced with members of his syndicate. In the real sense, it was a disgraceful charade.”
Lawal stated that he was resigning because he does not intend to be part of what he called “Atiku’s rigging machine” in the 2027 general elections. He said: “I cannot avoid doing so if I remain in the party.”
He also expressed his view on the 2027 election choice, stating: “I believe Tinubu might, comparatively speaking, end up a better Nigerian president than Kachalla Atiku could ever be (as bad as Tinubu currently is and possibly could ever be).”
Lawal announced his plan to withdraw from active politics temporarily. He said: “I will in the meantime retire to my village farm from where I will be watching Kachalla Atiku and his band of wicked vote riggers and result manipulators mercilessly out-rigged and beaten to pulp by Tinubu’s ruthless and superior rigging machine.”
Background: Lawal’s defection to the ADC
Lawal was originally a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and served as SGF under President Muhammadu Buhari. He later fell out with the APC leadership and joined a coalition of opposition figures that adopted the ADC as their platform for the 2027 elections.
In July 2025, Lawal explained the coalition’s decision to choose the ADC over registering a new party. He said: “We decided that the wisdom to enter an existing political party posed less risk than registering a new one. This government won’t allow the type of people you’re showing on your TV now to register a new political party.”
By October 2025, Lawal was inaugurating new ADC executives in Adamawa State. He said at the event: “If we put our acts together, we will win Adamawa State.”
In November 2025, Atiku Abubakar formally joined the ADC, registering as a member in Adamawa State. By December 2025, the ADC had become the main opposition coalition platform with Atiku, Peter Obi, and other figures on board.
Background: How Atiku emerged as ADC presidential candidate
The ADC held its presidential primaries in May 2026 using a direct voting system across states and the Federal Capital Territory. According to official results declared by the ADC, Atiku Abubakar scored 1,846,370 votes. Rotimi Amaechi scored 504,117 votes. Mohammed Hayatu-Deen scored 177,120 votes. The party reported total registered membership of 3,113,599, with 2,527,977 members participating.
Both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen rejected the outcome. Hayatu-Deen withdrew before the official announcement, stating: “I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed.”
Amaechi also rejected the results, describing them as “concocted” and alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement across several parts of the country.
ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark, defended the primary. He described it as largely free and fair, though not without minor imperfections.
Since clinching the ticket, Atiku has held reconciliation meetings with both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen.
After meeting with Amaechi, Atiku said their discussions focused on “the troubling state of the nation, the growing economic pain, insecurity, and the urgent responsibility on patriotic Nigerians to find solutions.”
The ADC has not issued an official response to Lawal’s allegations.
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