THE Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out the suit filed by former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, challenging the victory of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
News Point Nigeria reports that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, struck out the suit on Friday after Jibrin Okutepa, counsel to Amaechi, moved a motion seeking to withdraw the case.
Okutepa informed the court that the parties involved in the suit had resolved their differences, prompting the application for the withdrawal of the matter.
The legal challenge stemmed from the ADC presidential primary conducted in May, in which Atiku emerged victorious after polling 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes.
Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former managing director of the defunct FSB International Bank, came third in the contest with 177,120 votes.
Before the announcement of the final results, Amaechi had rejected the outcome of the presidential primary, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice during the exercise.
The former governor had also claimed that the results of the election were being “concocted”.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the primary, Amaechi subsequently approached the court, seeking judicial intervention.
In the suit, Amaechi alleged that the conduct of the election violated the provisions of Sections 77(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the constitution of the ADC, as well as Sections 2, 2.1 and 2.2 of the party’s guidelines for the conduct of primary elections for the nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He sought an order restraining Atiku from parading or presenting himself as the presidential candidate of the ADC for the 2027 elections.
Amaechi also asked the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
However, the dispute appears to have been resolved following political developments within the party.
In June, the ADC named Amaechi as the running mate to Atiku for the 2027 presidential election, a move widely seen as an effort to strengthen the party’s ticket ahead of the polls.