Rotimi Amaechi, a presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress, has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary results, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice during the process, adding that the results are being “concocted.”
Amaechi announced his position in a statement posted on his verified X handle, “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,” he said.
“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. A party that criticises 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 lead to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he added.
Amaechi is not alone in his rejection. The third aspirant in the race, economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also rejected the results, making two of the three presidential contenders simultaneously repudiating the outcome of an exercise still being collated.
Sources within the party say Amaechi is considering approaching the court to challenge the result.
In Imo State, Amaechi’s campaign structure described the exercise as a sham, with the Orlu Zonal Coordinator saying no elections were held in the majority of wards across the state. “No primary election was held in the majority of the wards across the state,” he told journalists in Owerri.
Despite the rejections, the numbers at the collation centre at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja tell a dominant story for Atiku. In results released from ten states and the FCT, Atiku led comprehensively. In Kebbi State, he polled 65,523 to Amaechi’s 5,931. In Anambra, he scored 58,566 to Amaechi’s 17,085. In Gombe, Atiku secured 136,933 to Amaechi’s 1,140. In the FCT, Atiku got 18,704 against Amaechi’s 14,721.
Amaechi’s strongest showing came in Bayelsa State, where he won with 44,404 votes, defeating Atiku in the South-South state.
The ADC’s National Chairman, David Mark, had held a closed-door meeting with all three presidential aspirants at his residence in Abuja before the rejection of results by Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen, as the collation and declaration of primary election results commenced.
The ADC urged Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to channel their grievances through established party structures and statutory electoral processes rather than making public allegations.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said there was no evidence at present to support claims that the primary was rigged in favour of Atiku, noting that the collation of results was still ongoing.
Final collation results and a formal declaration by the ADC are expected imminently.
