Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared the winner of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary, securing the party’s nomination for the 2027 election.
The ADC announced on Wednesday that Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes, comfortably defeating former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, who scored 504,117 votes, and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen with 177,120 votes.
In his acceptance speech, Atiku praised the conduct of the primaries held across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards using the Option A4 voting system.
“We demonstrated that while democracy is being stifled by the ruling party and its operators, democracy is alive and well in the African Democratic Congress,” he said.
ADC National Chairman Senator David Mark defended the process, saying the party provided a level playing ground for all aspirants even if it was not perfect.
The outcome nevertheless sparked controversy, with both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen rejecting the results over alleged irregularities and voter disenfranchisement.
Atiku now emerges as the ADC’s standard-bearer as the party positions itself to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress in the next general elections.
