Former Minister of Transportation and former Rivers State governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential primaries, alleging that the exercise was marred by irregularities and voter suppression.
According to Daily Post, Amaechi made his position known in a statement released on Tuesday through his official X account, where he described the results announced by the party as “concocted” and lacking credibility.
According to him, the conduct of the primaries failed to meet the standards of fairness and transparency expected in a democratic process.
The former governor stated that he had previously assured party members and supporters that he would only accept the outcome of the election if the process was conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.
However, he argued that the exercise fell far below those expectations.
Amaechi alleged that a large number of registered ADC members across the country were denied the opportunity to vote during the primaries.
He claimed that nearly 80 percent of party members were allegedly excluded from participating in the exercise, making the results unacceptable.
He further accused the party leadership of engaging in the same practices the ADC had consistently criticized in other political parties and electoral bodies.
According to Amaechi, the party could not condemn allegations of vote buying, election manipulation and rigging involving the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, while allegedly carrying out similar actions internally.
The former minister maintained that the development contradicted the principles upon which the ADC was founded and warned that such actions could damage the party’s credibility ahead of future elections.
His rejection of the results comes amid growing controversies surrounding the ADC presidential primaries, with other aspirants and groups also raising concerns over alleged irregularities in the process.
