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Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has officially severed ties with the African Democratic Congress, alleging that the party’s presidential primaries were designed to favor former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Lawal announced his resignation from the party on Monday in a statement posted on his official Facebook page, stating that he could not continue to be associated with a political platform whose internal election process he considered to have been compromised.
Explaining his decision, the former SGF alleged that the ADC primaries lacked credibility and fairness from the start.
“I am leaving ADC because the just concluded primaries at all levels were massively rigged in favor of Kachalla Abubakar Atiku,” Lawal said.
He further accused party leaders of manipulating election results to ensure the victory of Atiku and his allies, and claimed that even in locations where voting was reportedly conducted, election results were allegedly altered.
“The results were simply written or rewritten to benefit him and his group. Even when they allowed elections to be held, the winners were simply replaced with members of his syndicate. In the truest sense, it was a shameful charade,” he said.
Lawal stated that remaining in the ADC would mean supporting a political structure that he believes could influence future elections in the same way. He said he would rather distance himself from the party than be associated with what he described as an unfair process.
Also read: Wike Accuses ADC Primaries of being rigged for Atiku, says Amaechi fell into a political trap
His resignation added controversy to the ADC presidential primaries held on May 25, 2026, which made Atiku the party’s standard bearer for the 2027 presidential election.
The party announced that Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to win, defeating former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who polled 504,117 votes, and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, who polled 177,120 votes.
The exercise has stirred controversy even before the results were announced, with some candidates questioning the credibility of the process.
Hayatu-Deen publicly disassociated herself from the primaries before the final announcement, citing concerns over alleged vote manipulation and irregularities. Amaechi also voiced his doubts regarding the conduct of the election, alleging that the process failed to meet expected standards of transparency and fairness.
Despite these reservations, efforts have been made to ease tensions within the party. Following the meeting with Atiku, Hayatu-Deen indicated that he would not contest the election results, saying that party cohesion and the broader goal of building a formidable opposition were more important than pursuing personal political interests.
However, Lawal chose a different path.
The former SGF said that he would begin consultations with his allies and political colleagues before deciding on his next political move, while making it clear that he would continue to oppose Atiku’s bid for the presidency.
