Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has renewed his allegation that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary was manipulated to favour former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Lawal said the alleged manipulation of the exercise was one of the major reasons he eventually left the ADC.
The former SGF made the fresh allegation during an interview with Trust TV, where he recounted his experience during the party’s presidential primary and explained why he backed another aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
According to Lawal, his preference for Hayatu-Deen was based on his assessment of the former banker as the most capable among the aspirants who contested the ADC presidential ticket.
“Like my state, outrightly, from day one, my preference was for Hayatu-Deen. No doubt about that because I considered him the most capable among all the aspirants,” he said.
Lawal explained that he was serving as the ADC vice-chairman in Adamawa State when arrangements for the primary were being made.
He said he participated in the process of constituting the committee responsible for conducting the exercise in the state.
According to him, the party’s guidelines required the appointment of the chairman and secretary of the electoral committee, while the state was responsible for selecting five other members.
He said he supported Hayatu-Deen because he believed the aspirant had a strong chance of winning the contest.
Lawal further claimed that Hayatu-Deen actually secured victory in his state during the voting process.
However, he alleged that the situation changed when the results were being collated.
He claimed that figures recorded for Hayatu-Deen were subsequently credited to Atiku.
“When they started filtering out the results, I found out that they were declaring Atiku. Then I found out that the result for Hayatu-Deen was credited to Atiku,” he said.
Lawal said he raised questions when he noticed the alleged changes but claimed he was given reasons why the outcome had to favour Atiku.
He alleged that some people told him the party could not afford to embarrass Atiku because of his position as the party’s leader.
The former SGF said he was dissatisfied with the explanation and attempted to challenge what he considered irregularities in the process.
He claimed, however, that his concerns did not change the outcome.
His latest comments add to the allegations he made in June after resigning from the ADC.
Lawal had announced his resignation shortly after Atiku emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
At the time, he alleged that the party’s primaries at different levels had been manipulated in favour of Atiku and his supporters.
He also alleged that in some areas where elections were conducted, the names of winners were allegedly replaced during the process of producing the final results.
The ADC primary, held on May 25, 2026, produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
Atiku was declared winner ahead of former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen.
The announced figures gave Atiku 1,846,370 votes, while Amaechi received 504,117 votes and Hayatu-Deen polled 177,120 votes.
The outcome was not accepted by all the contestants.
Hayatu-Deen and Amaechi had raised objections to the process before the final declaration of the result.
The disagreement over the primary subsequently became a major issue within the opposition camp as the parties continued efforts to build a platform ahead of the 2027 election.
Atiku’s camp has consistently rejected Lawal’s allegations.
The former vice president’s media team had accused Lawal of making serious claims without providing evidence to establish that the primary was manipulated.
Atiku’s camp maintained that the exercise was conducted across the country and that the result reflected the votes recorded during the primary.
The dispute also produced conflicting accounts from officials involved in the Adamawa exercise.
In June, the chairman of the ADC electoral committee in Adamawa State, Nicholas Msheliza, accused Lawal of attempting to influence the result in favour of Hayatu-Deen.
Msheliza, who also served as the returning officer for the Adamawa primary, alleged that Lawal contacted him after the results had been compiled and asked that the result from Hong Local Government Area be changed.
He said he rejected the request and maintained that the official figures reflected the votes recorded during the exercise.
The returning officer claimed Atiku won Hong Local Government Area with 11,991 votes, while Hayatu-Deen recorded 2,493 votes and Amaechi received 377 votes.
Msheliza also alleged that a parallel electoral structure was later created in parts of Adamawa after he refused to alter the result.
Lawal has maintained a different account of what happened during the primary.
His latest explanation focuses on the alleged movement of votes during collation and the decision by some party officials to declare Atiku the winner despite his claims about the results from the state.
The controversy has remained part of the political fallout from Atiku’s emergence as the ADC candidate.
Lawal has since moved away from the ADC and joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, where he has continued to criticise Atiku and the circumstances surrounding his emergence as the ADC candidate.
His defection has also brought him closer to the NDC presidential campaign involving Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.