Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election after defeating former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the party’s primary election.
The results of the nationwide primary were announced Wednesday night at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, with Atiku polling 1,855,787 votes to secure the party’s ticket. Amaechi came second with 509,397 votes, while Hayatu-Deen garnered 180,903 votes.
The ADC said a total of 2,546,457 votes were cast during the exercise, which involved party members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Atiku’s victory margin stood at more than 1.3 million votes ahead of Amaechi, consolidating his dominance in the contest and positioning him as the party’s standard-bearer ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Speaking after his emergence, Atiku described the outcome as proof that democracy remains alive within the ADC despite what he called increasing pressure on opposition parties by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The former vice president also appealed to aggrieved members and defeated aspirants to close ranks with the party ahead of the general election, insisting that the contest should not divide members of the coalition.
However, the exercise was not without controversy, as Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen reportedly rejected aspects of the process and alleged irregularities in the conduct of the primary.
Following the primary, Atiku met with Amaechi in Abuja as part of reconciliation efforts aimed at strengthening party unity ahead of the 2027 polls.
