The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed allegations of rigging during the party’s primary, describing them as baseless and lacking evidence.
His campaign team issued a sharp rebuttal to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, who resigned from the ADC on Monday and accused Atiku of manipulating the primary process nationwide.
In a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the former vice-president, the Atiku camp insisted that the primary reflected the genuine will of party members across the country.
Lawal had questioned the credibility of the exercise, but the response accused him of maligning the party and its members without proof.
“Having chosen to malign a democratic process, insult thousands of ADC members nationwide, and make grave allegations without presenting a shred of evidence, it has become necessary to set the record straight,” the statement read.
Shaibu added: “Mr Lawal has produced no documents, no verifiable facts, no credible witnesses, and no proof whatsoever to support his sensational allegations.”
The Atiku camp also highlighted political inconsistency, noting that Lawal had accepted primary results that favoured his family.
“He has failed to explain how the same process he calls fraudulent somehow produced a result he accepts in Adamawa State, where his cousin, Omar Suleiman, emerged as the ADC governorship candidate,” the statement said.
“Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the process was only credible when it favoured his family and only rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support.”
The statement further pointed to Lawal’s own record, recalling his removal as SGF in 2017 following the so-called “grass-cutting scandal” linked to contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North-East. Lawal has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Atiku’s team argued that Lawal’s grievances stemmed from the outcome, not the conduct, of the primary.
“Democracy guarantees participation, not victory,” Shaibu said. “One cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred result and suddenly condemn it as rigged when it does not.”
The response also faulted Lawal for resorting to ethnic and religious rhetoric, stating: “Having failed to persuade ADC members to embrace his preferred candidate, he now seeks refuge in the divisive politics of identity.”
Shaibu maintained that the 2027 general election would be decided by Nigerians based on governance, economic recovery and security, not internal party disputes.
“The Nigerian people know Atiku Abubakar. They know his record in public service and business, and his commitment to national unity and economic reform,” he said.
Concluding, the statement added: “The 2027 election will not be decided by tantrums, ethnic dog whistles, recycled grievances, or revisionist history. It will be decided by the Nigerian people. No amount of post-primary bitterness can alter that reality.”