By Marvellous Nyang
May 26, 2026
Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rivers State governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress presidential primary election that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s flagbearer for the 2027 general election.
Amaechi described the exercise as flawed, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement, electoral malpractice and manipulation of results during the nationwide primary conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The former presidential aspirant, who contested alongside Atiku Abubakar and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, said he could not accept what he termed “concocted results” from a process that failed to meet democratic standards.
“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,” Amaechi stated.
Amaechi insisted he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of a process that was free, fair and transparent.
“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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The former Rivers governor accused the ADC leadership of betraying the ideals upon which the opposition coalition was built, arguing that the party could not claim to offer Nigerians an alternative while allegedly engaging in the same practices it had criticised in the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“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 declared.
Amaechi further alleged that nearly 80 per cent of registered party members were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“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.
The development has deepened tensions within the ADC coalition, coming barely hours after another aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also rejected the process and boycotted the official announcement of the results over alleged irregularities.
Despite the controversy, Atiku maintained a commanding lead in results announced from several states, including Edo where he defeated Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen by a wide margin.
Political observers say Amaechi’s rejection of the exercise may trigger fresh legal and political battles within the opposition coalition as preparations intensify for the 2027 presidential election.
