The African Democratic Congress has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s reported 10.99 million votes in the just-concluded All Progressives Congress presidential primaries is part of a plot to rig the 2027 general elections.
The party also pledged to demonstrate transparency, inclusiveness and democratic principles in the selection of its own presidential candidate.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC presidential aspirant, also dismissed the APC primary figures as “fabricated numbers” with no political significance to the opposition party.
ADC further criticised Tinubu’s recent remarks against opposition parties as self-serving and insensitive.
Speaking after emerging as the APC presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Tinubu said opposition leaders would take Nigeria backwards because they lacked an alternative vision for the country.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described it as ironic that such comments were coming from a president whose administration, it said, would be remembered as one of the worst periods in Nigeria’s democratic history.
The party also questioned the APC primary results that reportedly gave Tinubu 10.99 million votes, describing the figures as “an unbelievable concoction.”
According to the ADC, the numbers could form the basis for attempts to rig the 2027 general elections.
However, Chairman of the ADC Presidential Primaries Election Committee, Ikechi Emenike, said the party was committed to setting a standard for democracy and electoral integrity despite what he described as the declining democratic culture in Nigeria’s political space.
Addressing journalists at the party’s collation centre in Abuja, Emenike said the ADC rejected the culture of imposition, manipulated consensus and predetermined outcomes allegedly common in other political parties.
“Unlike the culture of imposition, consensus manipulation and predetermined outcomes that have become prevalent in contemporary political parties, the ADC has embraced a credible democratic process that gives every qualified aspirant equal opportunity to present their vision and earn the support of party members across the country,” he said.
He added that the ADC was “blessed with three eminently qualified aspirants” capable of leading the country, naming Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-deen.
After casting his vote during the ADC presidential primaries in Jimeta, Yola, Atiku said the party remained confident and focused on winning the 2027 election.
He insisted that the figures announced by the APC did not reflect the political reality in the country.
According to the former vice president, the reported 10 million votes were “mere numbers” that posed no threat to the ADC’s growing political strength and grassroots mobilisation.
Atiku also dismissed concerns about internal disagreements within the ADC, saying political disputes were normal in democratic organisations and would not affect the party’s unity or determination to challenge for power in 2027.
