A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary election.
The former Rivers State Governor raised heavy allegations of widespread voter disenfranchisement and severe electoral malpractice during the exercise.
In a statement released on his official X handle on Tuesday following the primary, Amaechi described the figures being declared by the party leadership as “concocted” and insisted he would not accept any outcome that lacked fairness and transparency.
He stated: “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.”
The former governor reminded stakeholders that he had previously made his position clear on how the exercise must be conducted.
“I had initially stated that I would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, and I stand by my word,” he said.
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Amaechi went on to accuse the party’s leadership of betraying the foundational ideals that the ADC claimed to stand for in its mission to offer an alternative political path for citizens.
He added: “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.”
According to the presidential hopeful, an overwhelming majority of card-carrying party members were completely blocked from casting their ballots during the poll.
“There’s no way that about eighty per cent 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?” he queried.
Amaechi maintained that the ADC’s original purpose was to give power back to ordinary citizens and establish a political platform rooted deeply in fairness and equal inclusion.
“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 noted.
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The former minister slammed the party for allegedly replicating the exact same irregularities it had often criticized in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He stated: “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.”
While the national leadership of the ADC is yet to officially declare the final collated results from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), early figures obtained from various states indicate that Atiku Abubakar is maintaining a commanding lead, with Amaechi coming in second place and economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen trailing in third.
