Atiku's Presidential Primary Win Marred by Rigging Allegations as Babachir Lawal Quits ADC

In a shocking move, Babachir Lawal has announced his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) citing the party's presidential primary process as fundamentally flawed. According to Lawal, the primary election was massively rigged in favour of Atiku Abubakar, with results altered to favour him and his supporters. Lawal alleged that even in areas where voting was conducted, declared winners were replaced with members of Atiku's syndicate. He described the primary process as a 'disgraceful charade'. The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) made this known in a statement shared on his official Facebook page on Monday. Lawal's decision to leave the party was informed by his unwillingness to be associated with a political structure that could influence future elections. The ADC presidential primary, which was held on May 25, 2026, had produced Atiku as the party's presidential candidate with 1,846,370 votes. Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen placed second and third with 504,117 and 177,120 votes respectively. However, the primary had drawn criticism from some aspirants, with Hayatu-Deen publicly distancing himself from the process before the announcement of the results. Hayatu-Deen had cited concerns about alleged vote manipulation and the integrity of the exercise. Despite this, he recently ruled out challenging the outcome of the primary, choosing party unity and the broader objective of building a credible opposition ahead of future elections over personal political ambition. Lawal, on the other hand, said he would spend time consulting with political associates on his next steps while continuing to oppose Atiku's presidential ambition. 'I am exiting the ADC because its just concluded primaries were at all levels massively rigged in favour Kachalla Abubakar Atiku,' Lawal said. 'Results were just written or rewritten to favour him and his coven. 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,' he added.