FORMER Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress presidential primary election, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement during the exercise held on Monday.
News Point Nigeria reports that Amaechi, in a post shared on his X handle on Tuesday ahead of the official announcement of the results, said the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor, who contested alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen for the party’s presidential ticket, maintained that he would only accept the outcome of a process that 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. 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,” Amaechi said.
The former minister further alleged that a large number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote, insisting that such practices contradicted the ideals upon which the ADC was founded.
“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. Then what makes us different from the others? The whole idea of the ADC was to give the Nigerian people a platform, to amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and make Nigeria a better place for everyone irrespective of backgrounds, ethnicity, or religion,” he added.
Amaechi also accused the party of engaging in the same electoral malpractices it had previously criticised in the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“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.
Amaechi’s rejection of the process came hours after fellow aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also withdrew from the exercise over alleged irregularities.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen expressed concern over reports of widespread electoral malpractice across the country, noting that he personally witnessed some of the incidents.
“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,” the statement read.
The ADC presidential primary collation exercise is currently taking place in Abuja, with results expected from across the country.
Ahead of the nationwide primary, the party had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative.
According to him, the party remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also stressed that the conduct of aspirants and members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.