Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election after defeating former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the party’s primary election.
The ADC announced on Wednesday that Atiku secured a total of 1,846,370 votes to clinch the party’s ticket, while Amaechi polled 504,117 votes and Hayatu-Deen garnered 177,120 votes in the nationwide exercise.
Speaking after his victory, Atiku praised the party for organising what he described as a transparent and credible primary election process.
According to him, the conduct of the exercise showed that internal democracy was still thriving within the opposition party despite concerns about the country’s political environment.
“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,” Atiku stated during his acceptance speech.
ADC National Chairman, David Mark, also commended party members for the peaceful conduct of the primary, noting that all aspirants were given equal opportunities to contest.
Mark admitted that the exercise was not entirely flawless but maintained that delegates and members were allowed to freely choose their preferred candidate.
The presidential primary was conducted across the country’s 8,809 wards using the Option A4 voting system.
However, the outcome of the election has been disputed by both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen, who rejected the results over alleged irregularities.
Amaechi accused the party leadership of disenfranchising voters during the exercise and dismissed the final outcome announced by the party.
Hayatu-Deen also raised concerns over alleged vote manipulation, adding that he would consult with his supporters before deciding on his next line of action.
Atiku’s emergence now positions him as the ADC flagbearer ahead of the 2027 presidential election as the opposition party intensifies efforts to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
