Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC ) Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed allegations by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, that the party’s presidential primary was manipulated in his favour.
Atiku’s response came hours after Lawal announced his resignation from the ADC, alleging that the party’s presidential primary was “massively rigged” to ensure the emergence of the former vice president as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 election.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described Lawal’s allegations as unsubstantiated and driven by disappointment over the outcome of the contest.
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According to Shaibu, the presidential primary was conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear outcome, stressing that Lawal had failed to provide any credible evidence to support his claims.
“The truth is straightforward. The ADC presidential primaries were conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear and decisive outcome. What Mr. Lawal has offered Nigerians is not evidence. He has produced no documents, no verifiable facts, no credible witnesses, and no proof whatsoever to support his sensational allegations,” the statement read.
The former vice president’s camp also accused Lawal of contradicting himself by condemning alleged electoral manipulation while simultaneously praising what he previously described as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s “superior rigging machine.
“If rigging is indeed an unforgivable crime, why does Mr. Lawal appear almost fascinated by it when he imagines it might serve his preferred political outcome?” Shaibu queried.
Atiku’s spokesman further argued that Lawal had ignored the fact that the same ADC primary process he now describes as fraudulent also produced his cousin, Omar Suleiman, as the party’s governorship candidate in Adamawa State.
“Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the process was only credible when it favoured his family and only rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support,” the statement added.
Shaibu maintained that if the ADC primary was genuinely flawed, Lawal should reject all outcomes arising from the exercise, including his cousin’s emergence as governorship candidate.
“Instead, he has chosen the path of selective outrage—embracing results that suit his interests while condemning those that do not. Such behaviour is not driven by principle. It is driven by disappointment.”
The statement noted further that Lawal’s criticism of Atiku appeared to stem more from dissatisfaction with the primary outcome than from any genuine concern about the integrity of the electoral process.
