Former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary, alleging widespread irregularities and voter disenfranchisement in the exercise won by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

According to a report by Punch Newspapers, Amaechi described the results announced from across the country as “concocted” and insisted he would not accept an outcome that failed to meet standards of fairness and transparency.

In a statement shared on his verified X account on Tuesday, Amaechi claimed that nearly 80 per cent of party members were allegedly prevented from voting during the nationwide direct primary conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the ADC was created to offer Nigerians a credible political alternative and warned the party against engaging in the same practices it had criticised in the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Amaechi stated, “A party that criticises 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.”

Another presidential aspirant, economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also rejected the process and boycotted the final collation ceremony in Abuja over alleged vote manipulation.

Despite the protests, collation continued at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, with Atiku maintaining a commanding lead in the results announced from several states.

The former vice president reportedly won in states including Sokoto, Kano, Gombe, Adamawa, Edo, Oyo, Plateau and the FCT. Amaechi secured victories in Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi.

In Ekiti State, Atiku polled 18,395 votes ahead of Amaechi’s 1,574 and Hayatu-Deen’s 149 votes. In the FCT, Atiku recorded 18,704 votes while Amaechi scored 14,721 and Hayatu-Deen secured 5,575 votes.

The growing dispute has raised concerns over possible internal divisions within the ADC ahead of the 2027 general election.

Responding to the allegations, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi urged aggrieved aspirants to use internal party mechanisms to challenge the outcome instead of making public accusations.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Abdullahi said there was no conclusive evidence yet to prove the primary was rigged in favour of Atiku, adding that the collation process was still ongoing.

He also maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission had monitored the party’s congresses and primaries nationwide and recognised the current ADC leadership overseeing the exercise.