Atiku defeats Amaechi, Hayatu-Deen to win ADC presidential ticket

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, after defeating former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the party’s primary election.

The returning officer, Tunde Ogbeha, announced Atiku as winner after the final collation of results from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the former vice president secured a total of 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who polled 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen garnered 177,120 votes.

The primary election was conducted through direct voting nationwide on Monday, while collation of results commenced on Tuesday and ended on Wednesday at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen, however, rejected the exercise and alleged widespread irregularities before the final declaration of results.

Amaechi described the outcome as “concocted,” alleging massive voter disenfranchisement and manipulation during the exercise. Hayatu-Deen also accused party officials of rigging and compromising the credibility of the process.

Despite the protests raised by the two aspirants, the ADC proceeded with the collation and declaration of results, officially returning Atiku as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 presidential election.

The victory marks another presidential contest for the former vice president, who previously ran under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019 and 2023 elections.

Atiku recorded overwhelming victories in several northern states, including Adamawa, Kano, Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Borno, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara.

In Adamawa, his home state, Atiku polled 177,141 votes against Amaechi’s 1,896 votes and Hayatu-Deen’s 18,949 votes. He also secured 155,595 votes in Kano, 136,933 in Gombe, 115,410 in Bauchi and 108,784 in Kaduna.

Amaechi, however, dominated parts of the South-south region, winning Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states.

In Rivers State, the former governor secured 115,650 votes against Atiku’s 912 votes. He also defeated the former vice president in Bayelsa with 21,404 votes to 1,470 and in Delta with 35,325 votes to 10,023.

Hayatu-Deen did not win any state but posted significant figures in Borno, Benue, Adamawa, Katsina and Niger states.