By Hassan Adamu, Abuja
The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) deepened on Tuesday as former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary election, alleging widespread irregularities and voter disenfranchisement.
Amaechi described the results of the exercise as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of credibility, transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party leadership.
In a statement posted on his official X handle, the former presidential aspirant said he could not accept results produced through what he termed a flawed and manipulated process.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” Amaechi stated.
He alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from participating in the exercise, a situation he said undermined the legitimacy of the primary.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he added.
Amaechi further accused the ADC of engaging in the same electoral practices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to him, the party lacked the moral justification to criticize alleged vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by other political actors while allegedly engaging in similar conduct during its own internal electoral process.
He maintained that the development was unacceptable and inconsistent with the democratic ideals and principles upon which the ADC was founded.
The development is expected to heighten tensions within the opposition party, amid growing concerns over internal divisions and the credibility of its leadership ahead of future political engagements.
