From Victor Osula, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Tuesday night suspended the collation of results from its ongoing presidential primary election conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), amid growing controversy and allegations of widespread irregularities by two leading aspirants.
The collation exercise, taking place at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, was halted at about 11:50 p.m. after results from 25 states had been announced.
Party officials disclosed that the process would resume by 8 p.m. on Wednesday for the continuation of collation and eventual declaration of the winner of the fiercely contested presidential race.
THEWILL reports that three aspirants including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, and economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, are battling for the ADC presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Results announced before the suspension showed Atiku maintaining a commanding lead over his closest rivals, with victories recorded in several states already declared by the party’s electoral committee.
The temporary suspension of the exercise came amid mounting tension within the opposition party following allegations of manipulation, vote rigging, and voter disenfranchisement raised by both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen
Amaechi had earlier rejected the conduct of the primary, describing the results being announced as “concocted” and inconsistent with democratic principles.
The former Rivers State governor alleged that a significant percentage of party members were denied the opportunity to participate in the exercise.
“I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated in a message posted on his X platform.
According to him, the exercise failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness expected of a party seeking to present itself as a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“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 further accused the ADC leadership of engaging in practices similar to those it had consistently criticised in both the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), including alleged vote buying and manipulation of results.
Similarly, Hayatu-Deen had earlier withdrawn from the concluding stage of the exercise, including the official announcement of results, over claims of widespread vote rigging across the country.
In a strongly worded statement, the former banker said reports from different states had raised serious concerns about the integrity of the process.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. 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,” Hayatu-Deen stated.
The allegations by the two aspirants have intensified internal tensions within the ADC and cast a shadow over what the party had projected as a transparent and democratic presidential primary.
The presidential primary has attracted significant national attention following the recent influx of opposition politicians into the ADC amid efforts to build a formidable coalition capable of challenging the APC in the next election cycle.
As of the time of filing this report, the ADC leadership had yet to officially respond to the allegations of manipulation and voter disenfranchisement raised by the aggrieved aspirants.
