Aniefiok Christopher
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has won the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 general elections.
The result was announced on Wednesday night in a statement shared on the party’s official X page, which declared that Atiku defeated former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and former banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the contest.
“Atiku defeats Amaechi, Hayatudeen to secure ADC Presidential Ticket.
“Final result: Atiku 1,855,787, Amaechi 509,397, Hayatudeen 180,903. Total votes cast in the election: 2,546,457. Total party membership for the election: 3,113,599. Congratulations to Waziri Atiku,” the statement added.
A breakdown of the results shows that Atiku won by a wide margin of 1,346,390 votes over Amaechi, who came second, while he defeated Hayatu-Deen by 1,674,884 votes.
The African Democratic Congress had commenced its presidential primary process on Monday, May 25, 2026, with members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory participating in the exercise.
The party had opted for the direct primary method after its three major aspirants reportedly declined calls to step down for a consensus candidate.
Although an affirmation process was initially considered, party leaders said the direct primary route was adopted in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
Amaechi Rejects Results
Meanwhile, the former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
In a statement issued following the primaries, Amaechi described the announced results as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
“I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated.
He said he had previously maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent, stressing that the exercise did not reflect the democratic values the ADC claimed to represent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise.
“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 stated.
The former Rivers State governor queried the moral basis of the ADC criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged electoral malpractice while allegedly engaging in similar conduct internally.
“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 declared.
Amaechi said the ADC was envisioned as a platform to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and provide credible political alternatives irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social background.
His rejection of the outcome is expected to deepen tensions within the opposition party following the conclusion of its presidential primary election.
