Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has resigned from the African Democratic Congress, alleging that the party’s recent primary elections were manipulated in favour of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his allies.
In a statement issued on Monday, Lawal claimed that the primaries conducted ahead of the 2027 general elections were marred by widespread irregularities, alleging that winners in some contests were replaced with candidates loyal to Atiku.
The ADC recently held nationwide direct primaries to select candidates for various elective positions, including the presidency. Atiku emerged as the party’s presidential candidate after polling 1,846,370 votes to defeat Rotimi Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes, while Mohammed Hayatu-Deen garnered 177,120 votes.
Lawal said he could no longer remain in a party where, according to him, the democratic process had been compromised. He added that he would not be part of any alleged plan to manipulate future elections and vowed to oppose Atiku’s presidential ambition in 2027.
The former SGF also argued that supporting Atiku’s candidacy would effectively guarantee President Bola Tinubu a second term in office, maintaining that Atiku lacked the competence required to lead the country.
Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen had earlier rejected the outcome of the ADC presidential primary and boycotted the official announcement of the results in Abuja.
