Former Rivers State governor and presidential aspirant, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, describing the exercise as a “concocted” process riddled with alleged rigging, voter disenfranchisement and electoral manipulation.
Amaechi, in a strongly worded statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, said the primaries failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness the party had promised Nigerians.
“I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” he declared.
The former Minister of Transportation said he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of the exercise if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“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,” Amaechi stated.
He alleged that widespread voter suppression occurred across the country during the exercise, claiming that a large number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote.
“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 said.
Amaechi accused the ADC of betraying its founding ideals and engaging in the same electoral malpractice it had consistently condemned in the ruling APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“A party that criticizes 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 leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he said.
The former governor maintained that the ADC was conceived as a platform to rescue Nigerians from “impunity and gross mismanagement,” warning that the credibility of the opposition party was now under serious threat.
In a related development, another presidential aspirant and economist, Mohammed Hayatudeen, also distanced himself from the outcome of the exercise over alleged irregularities.
Hayatudeen announced on his X account that he would boycott the official declaration of the presidential primary results.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today,” he stated.
He added that reports of widespread vote rigging across the country had raised serious concerns.
“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,” Hayatudeen said.
The rejection of the primary results by two leading contenders has triggered fresh tension within the ADC, with political observers warning that the development could deepen the party’s internal crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections.
