- Cites widespread disenfranchisement
Former Governor of Rivers State and presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has unequivocally rejected the party’s primary results, alleging that the announced tallies are “concocted” and a direct insult to democratic principles.
Additionally, the former Minister of Transportation claimed that widespread voter disenfranchisement and manipulation had deeply compromised the credibility of the exercise.
Delivering the scathing remarks in a statement posted on his X platform on Wednesday, following the conclusion of the ADC presidential primaries across the country, Amaechi further alleged that a large percentage of party members were denied the opportunity to participate in the process.
Consequently, the former governor said: “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced”, even as he recalled his earlier pledge to accept the outcome of the primaries only if the process was free, fair, and transparent.
Maintaining that the conduct of the primary election failed to meet those specific standards, he said: “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, who sharply contended that the recent electoral exercise starkly contradicted the core democratic principles the ADC champions as a viable alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said developments around the primary have regrettably betrayed the coalition party’s promise to offer Nigerians a clean democratic slate come 2027 general elections.
While questioning the integrity of the process, he asserted that expecting him to endorse an outcome where roughly 80 percent of party members were denied the right to vote is utterly unreasonable.
Furthermore, Amaechi condemned the party’s top leadership, asserting that they had stooped to the very same corrupt practices for which they consistently vilified both the ruling APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him: “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”, insisting that the vision behind the ADC was to provide a credible platform capable of amplifying the voices of ordinary Nigerians and rescuing the country from what he described as “impunity and gross mismanagement.”
He further said: “The whole idea of the ADC was to give the Nigerian people a platform, to amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and make Nigeria a better place for everyone irrespective of backgrounds, ethnicity, or religion.”
With the nationwide direct primaries now concluded, the former minister’s outspoken defiance and refusal to accept the results that came in has deepened existing fault lines within the party.
ADC insiders opined that with Amaechi’s camp actively contesting the process, the coalition’s stability is hanging in the balance, and also creating a chaotic foundation as the leadership scrambles to unify its ranks and prepare for next year’s general elections.
