The presidential primary election of a faction of the African Democratic Congress descended into controversy on Wednesday as the results collation process was declared inconclusive amid protests from two leading aspirants and reports of parallel exercises in some states.
Chairman of the party’s presidential primary election committee, David Mark, announced the suspension of the collation exercise due to the absence of results from five of the remaining eleven states. The committee said collation would resume in Abuja at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, which was declared a public holiday by the Federal Government for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
Results collated from 25 states showed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar leading in 23 states, placing him in a strong position to secure the party’s presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general election.
The direct primary election, conducted across political wards using the Option A4 voting system, reportedly saw Atiku defeat former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in most states announced by returning officers.
However, the process was soon overshadowed by allegations of irregularities and internal divisions within the party.
Hayatu-Deen rejected the figures being collated, alleging electoral malpractice during the exercise in his ward in Borno State. In a post on social media, he distanced himself from the collation process and hinted at possible future political decisions, amid speculation that he could defect to another political platform.
Shortly after, Amaechi also rejected the exercise, accusing the election committee of poor conduct and disenfranchising registered party members in several states. In a statement posted on his X account, the former Rivers State governor expressed disappointment that the party was allegedly replicating what he described as the failures of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Before the public disagreements emerged, David Mark was reported to have held a closed-door meeting with the three aspirants shortly after voting concluded in their respective states.
Reacting to the allegations, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, criticized the aspirants for raising accusations before the completion of the collation process.
The crisis deepened further in Ebonyi State, where rival factions of the party conducted parallel presidential primaries and announced different winners. One faction declared Atiku Abubakar winner of a primary reportedly conducted across the state’s 171 wards, while another faction loyal to the recognized state leadership announced Rotimi Amaechi as winner in a separate exercise.
A third breakaway faction in the state reportedly held a non-elective special convention where it adopted Dumebi Kachikwu as its factional presidential candidate.
Despite the growing disputes, the election committee insisted the collation process would continue once the outstanding state results are received.