JUST IN: Babachir Lawal dumps ADC, slams Atiku over primary election manipulation
JUST IN: Babachir Lawal dumps ADC, slams Atiku over primary election manipulation
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has announced his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing what he described as widespread irregularities during the party’s recent primary elections.
In a statement released on Monday, Lawal accused the party leadership of conducting primaries that were allegedly skewed in favour of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his political associates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The ADC recently concluded nationwide direct primaries to select candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state legislative seats. The party also held its presidential primary, which featured Atiku, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, and former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi.
Atiku emerged victorious with 1,846,370 votes, defeating Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen received 177,120 votes.
Following the exercise, both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen rejected the outcome and stayed away from the official declaration of the presidential primary results in Abuja.
Lawal, who is from the same state as Atiku, Adamawa, alleged that the manipulation extended beyond the presidential contest and affected elections at multiple levels within the party.
“I sense a conspiracy of silence of which I want no part. Most members of the party are behaving as if this is the normal thing to do,” he said.
He further alleged that even in areas where voting took place, outcomes were altered afterward.
“Even where they allowed some semblance of election to hold, the winners were simply replaced with members of his syndicate. In the real sense, it was a disgraceful charade.”
The former SGF stated that he could not remain in a party he believes is preparing to replicate such practices in future elections. According to him, supporting Atiku’s presidential ambition would amount to “giving Tinubu an automatic ticket to a second term, which gives me nightmares”.
Lawal also questioned Atiku’s capacity to lead the country, expressing the view that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would ultimately perform better in office than the former vice-president.
He concluded by declaring that he would actively oppose Atiku’s bid for the presidency in the 2027 election cycle.
