Atiku Fires Back at Babachir Over ADC Primary Allegations

The campaign team of African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has come out strongly against former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, dismissing his claims of rigging in the party's presidential primary as baseless and unsubstantiated. Lawal had announced his resignation from the party, citing Atiku's alleged interference in the primary process. However, in a statement released by Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the team argued that Lawal's allegations were not backed by any evidence and were merely an attempt to discredit the democratic process. The statement emphasized that the ADC presidential primaries were conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear outcome, which Lawal has failed to provide any proof to contradict. Shaibu pointed out the inconsistency in Lawal's stance, noting that he seemed to accept the outcome of the primary process in other contests, such as in Adamawa State where his cousin emerged as the ADC governorship candidate. The Atiku camp further accused Lawal of resorting to ethnic and religious sentiments in his criticism, which they believe does little to address the country's challenges. Instead, they argued that the 2027 election would be decided by issues of governance, economic recovery, and national security. Atiku's team maintained that he remains focused on presenting solutions to Nigeria's problems and that no amount of post-primary controversy would alter the outcome of the ADC presidential contest. The team also highlighted Atiku's record in public service, his achievements in business, and his commitment to national unity and economic reform, stressing that these are what will matter to Nigerians in the 2027 election. Lawal's criticism was seen as driven more by dissatisfaction with the outcome of the primary than by genuine concerns about electoral integrity. The Atiku camp concluded that democracy guarantees participation, not victory, and that one cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred result and suddenly condemn it as rigged when it does not. The controversy surrounding Lawal's tenure as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, particularly the 'grass-cutting scandal', was also revisited in the statement, with the Atiku camp questioning Lawal's public image as a critic of corruption and electoral malpractice.