Amaechi Rejects ADC Presidential Primary Results Over Alleged Irregularities
Former Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primaries, describing the results as “concocted” and alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement across the country.
Amaechi, in a statement issued after the primaries, said he would not accept results from a process that failed to meet the standards of fairness, transparency and credibility earlier promised by the party.
According to him, reports from various parts of the country indicated that a large percentage of party members were allegedly prevented from voting during the exercise.
“I had initially stated that I will only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, and I stand by my word,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor argued that the alleged disenfranchisement of party members contradicted the ADC’s stated mission of providing Nigerians with a credible alternative platform capable of addressing the country’s political and economic challenges.
He further accused the party of engaging in the same electoral malpractices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that lead to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members,” Amaechi stated.
He maintained that the conduct of the exercise undermined the ideals upon which the party sought to distinguish itself from other political parties ahead of future elections.
