The chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) electoral committee in Adamawa State, Dr. Nicholas Msheliza, has accused former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, of attempting to influence and alter the outcome of the party’s recent presidential primary, threatening to release evidence to support his claims.
The development follows Mr Lawal’s resignation from the opposition party.
It can be recalled that the former SGF had in a statement declaring his resignation from the party accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of rigging the party’s presidential primary in his favour.
Msheliza, who also served as the Returning Officer for the Adamawa primaries, said Lawal personally contacted him after results were compiled and demanded that he reverse the outcome in Hong Local Government Area in favour of businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen over Atiku.
He noted that he rejected the request, insisting that the results accurately reflected the actual votes cast.
“When Babachir Lawal got wind of the results, he called and requested that I reverse the results to favour his candidate. I refused to carry out his criminal directive,” Msheliza said.
According to the Returning Officer, Atiku won Hong LGA convincingly with 11,991 votes, while Hayatu-Deen polled 2,493 votes and former Minister Rotimi Amaechi got 377 votes.
Msheliza further alleged that shortly after his refusal, Lawal unilaterally dissolved the local electoral committee and set up a parallel structure that conducted what he described as an “illegal exercise” across several local government areas, including Hong, Madagali, Michika, and Mubi North.
He claimed this retaliatory move produced “concocted results” that directly contradicted the official tally already recorded by the original committee.
“This was done without consultation and without proper electoral materials. The original results had already been documented before the parallel team arrived,” he said.
The Returning Officer challenged Lawal to release his own result sheets for public comparison with the official records, adding that he was fully prepared to present documentary evidence backing his account.
He also questioned Lawal’s conduct, saying his actions were completely inconsistent with the integrity expected of his office and public standing. Msheliza stated that a further detailed statement would be released soon, accompanied by “documentary proof of interference and manipulation attempts” surrounding the primary.