Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar won the party ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 presidential election, following his overwhelming victory in the direct primary organised by the party.
This was disclosed Wednesday evening in Abuja in the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel by the party leadership in a formal presentation of the ADC flag to Atiku, the presidential candidate of the party.
It is reported that three main aspirants contested for the ticket of the party following the commencement of the direct primary election on Monday across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Based on information released by the party, Atiku scored a total of 1,846,370 votes to triumph over the former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who got 504,117 votes, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, the ex-banker, who won 177,120 votes.
Over 2.5 million people voted from a total of over three million registered voters of the party who took part in the voting process.
According to sources, the ADC chose to hold the direct primary as attempts to reach an agreement on a consensus candidate failed as the three main aspirants refused to step down.
Despite the landslide result, tensions emerged within the party shortly before the official declaration.
Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen questioned the credibility of the exercise and alleged irregularities in the voting process. Hayatu-Deen was absent from the venue during the final announcement, which party insiders described as a protest against the outcome.
Addressing supporters after his victory, Atiku appealed to aggrieved party members to put aside their differences and work together ahead of the general election.
He specifically urged Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to join forces with him in what he described as a collective effort to rebuild the country and strengthen democracy.
The former vice president also used the occasion to criticise the ruling party, accusing it of weakening opposition politics through intimidation and political pressure.
He promised that his campaign would focus on tackling Nigeria’s economic hardship, insecurity and education crisis.
According to him, an ADC-led government would prioritise free and compulsory basic education, reforms aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment, improved healthcare delivery and stronger support for security agencies.
Atiku said the opposition must remain united and organised if it hopes to defeat the ruling party in the 2027 presidential election.
