Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially secured the 2027 presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
This comes as the returning officer of the primary election, Tunde Ogbeha, announced the official results at the party’s national collation center at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
Atiku secured a landslide victory in a nationwide direct primary election, defeating his closest rivals: former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and renowned economist and banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
The direct primary election, which utilized the Option A4 voting method, allowed registered party members across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to cast their votes directly at the ward level.
According to the official figures released by the ADC leadership, a total of 2,546,457 votes were cast out of a total party membership database of 3,113,599.
“Atiku 1,846,370, Amaechi 504,117, Hayatudeen 177,120. Total votes cast in the election: 2,546,457. Total party membership for the election: 3,113,599,” the result reads.
A breakdown showed Atiku defeated Amaechi by 1,342,253 votes and Hayatu-Deen by 1,669,250 votes, while Amaechi also led Hayatu-Deen by 327,003 votes.
The African Democratic Congress commenced its presidential primary process on Monday, May 25, 2026, with party members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory participating in the exercise.
The party had opted for the direct primary method after all three aspirants—Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen— declined calls to step down for a consensus candidate, while an affirmation process was initially considered before the direct primary was adopted in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
Speaking after securing the 2027 presidential ticket of the ADC, Atiku called on aggrieved aspirants and party members to close ranks, insisting that unity was necessary after the contest.
“I therefore appeal to all those who feel aggrieved to come back to our party and close ranks with the rest of us,” he said.
He also specifically appealed to his fellow contestants to join him in what he described as a broader national struggle.
“In particular, I invite Chief Rotimi Anechi and Alhaji Muhammad Hayatu-Deen to join me in this fight to save our democracy and our country,” Atiku said.
Atiku stressed that the outcome should not divide the party, noting that internal competition should not produce winners and losers.
“As I said previously, there are no winners and no losers. Our people look up to us for leadership and I am ready to lead,” he said.
He added that he would work with other aspirants and stakeholders to build the party ahead of the general election.
“I shall work with you all to continue to build our party. I will campaign with you and if Nigeria’s leaders demand it, govern with you to build a country that works for all of us,” he added.
However, both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen had earlier rejected the result, citing what they described as manipulation of the voting process, with Hayatu-Deen saying he would not attend the announcement of the result.
In a statement posted on his X handle, Amaechi described the results from the primary as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of fairness, transparency, and credibility expected of the party.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” he wrote.
Hayatu-Deen had earlier rejected the process, also alleging massive rigging and irregularities in the exercise.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that ADC had earlier emerged as the vehicle for a coalition of opposition leaders seeking to challenge the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
The party had earlier brought together Atiku, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who came in the second, third, and fourth places in the 2023 presidential election won by President Tinubu of the APC.
However, earlier this month, Obi and Kwankwaso left the party to join the National Democratic Congress (NDC), where Obi has emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
