The former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary election, alleging widespread disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Amaechi said he would not accept the result of a process he described as lacking transparency and fairness.
Amaechi had earlier told journalists at his Ubima ward in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers state that he would only accept the outcome of the election if the process were transparent.
Earlier, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, another aspirant, announced that he would not attend the announcement of the election results over what he described as “widespread irregularities and vote rigging” allegedly witnessed during the exercise.
“I reject the concocted results of the ADC presidential primaries,” Amaechi wrote.
“Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced.
“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.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party.
“There’s no way that about 80 percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results. Then what makes us different from the others?
“The whole idea of the ADC was to give the Nigerian people a platform, to amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and make Nigeria a better place for everyone irrespective of backgrounds, ethnicity, or religion.
“A party that criticises 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 leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable.”
