Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday visited former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi at his Abuja residence, barely 24 hours after defeating him in the presidential primary election of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Key Highlights:
- Atiku visited Amaechi after winning the ADC presidential primary.
- He defeated Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to secure the party’s ticket.
- Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen questioned the credibility of the election process.
- Atiku urged party members to unite ahead of the 2027 elections.
- The visit is viewed as an attempt to ease tensions within the ADC.
Atiku was accompanied by former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, former ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu and other party chieftains during the closed-door meeting.
The visit followed growing tensions within the ADC after Amaechi and another aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, reportedly rejected the outcome of the primary election conducted on Wednesday night at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
According to official figures announced by the party, Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen garnered 177,120 votes.
Following the declaration of results, the party leadership led by former Senate President David Mark presented the ADC presidential flag to Atiku.
The party had adopted the direct primary method after the three aspirants reportedly rejected attempts to impose a consensus arrangement before the exercise.
Speaking after his emergence, Atiku appealed to aggrieved members to sheathe their swords and unite behind the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
“I therefore appeal to all those who feel aggrieved to come back to our party and close ranks with the rest of us,” Atiku said.
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He also made direct appeals to Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to join his presidential bid.
“In particular, I invite Chief Rotimi Amaechi and Alhaji Muhammad Hayatu-Deen to join me in this fight to save our democracy and our country,” he added.
Atiku further claimed that there were “no winners and no losers” in the contest and pledged to work with party stakeholders to strengthen the ADC before the general election.
However, both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen reportedly faulted the process, alleging irregularities during the voting exercise. Hayatu-Deen was also said to have boycotted the official announcement of the results.
Details of Thursday’s meeting between Atiku and Amaechi were not disclosed as of press time, but the visit is being interpreted by political observers as an attempt to pacify aggrieved factions within the party following the contentious primary.
