Former Minister of Transportation and frontline presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primaries, describing the results as “concocted” and lacking credibility.
Amaechi, in a strongly worded statement issued after the exercise, alleged that widespread voter disenfranchisement marred the primaries across most parts of the country, insisting that the process failed to meet acceptable democratic standards.
The former Rivers State governor stated that he had earlier maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, stressing that the conduct of the exercise fell far short of the values the ADC claimed to represent.
According to him, “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced. I had initially stated that I will only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, and I stand by my word.”
Amaechi further alleged that nearly 80 percent of party members were allegedly denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise, questioning the credibility of the results announced by the party leadership.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results. Then what makes us different from the others?” he queried.
The former minister accused the ADC of engaging in the same electoral malpractices it had often accused the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission of perpetrating.
He alleged incidents of vote buying, result manipulation, and deliberate disenfranchisement of party members during the primaries, insisting that such practices were unacceptable in a party seeking to provide Nigerians with an alternative political platform.
Amaechi
stated that the ADC was established to give hope to ordinary Nigerians, amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and promote inclusiveness irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or social background.
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that lead to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable,” he said.
The development is expected to deepen tensions within the ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections, as political observers await the reaction of the party leadership to Amaechi’s allegations.
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