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Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken what appears to be an unassailable lead in the 2027 presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which started yesterday, Monday, May 25, 2026.

He as so far won over 160,000 votes from three states, with Amaechi winning only one state and garnering about 7,000 votes, while Hayatu-Deen has yet to win a state. Atiku has won Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, while Amaechi won Ebonyi.

The Zamfara chapter of ADC over-night declared Atiku as the winner of its presidential primary election in the state.

The Chairman of the ADC Presidential Primary Election Committee and Returning Officer for the exercise, Namadi Musa, announced the results on Monday in Gusau.

Musa said Abubakar polled 60,500 votes to defeat two other aspirants, Dr Mohammed Hayatuddeen, who scored 446 votes, and Rotimi Amaechi, who secured 191 votes.

He explained that the primary was conducted across all 147 wards in the 14 Local Government Areas of Zamfara in line with the party’s guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026.

According to him, 63,484 party members were registered for the exercise, and 61,137 votes were cast.

“Having fulfilled the ADC guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026, and having scored the highest votes, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is hereby returned as the party’s presidential candidate in Zamfara,” Musa declared.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Collation Officer for the Zamfara ADC Presidential Primary, Mikailu Barau, handed the collated results to the returning officer after the 14 local government party chairmen declared results from their areas.

Musa commended party members and stakeholders for their support, noting that the exercise was conducted peacefully across the state.

The collation and announcement of results were done in the presence of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and other stakeholders.

NAN further reports that the results were announced in the presence of officials from the Election and Political Party Monitoring Department of the INEC.

The officials said they monitored every stage of the process, from the State Assembly and Governorship primaries to the House of Representatives, Senatorial, and Presidential primaries.

The head of the INEC team, Mr Lawal Aliyu, advised party officials to adhere strictly to the commission’s guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026.

He said INEC would remain neutral and ensure a level playing field for all contestants in the electoral process.

Aliyu also urged stakeholders to mobilise prospective voters to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to participate in the general elections.

NAN reports that the ADC State Chairman, Shehu Maishanu, local government chairmen of the party, and candidates for State Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senatorial seats attended the event.

In Yobe, Atiku won the presidential primary with 44,841 votes.

Hajiya Ma’am Kyari, chairperson of the electoral committee in Yobe, announced the result on Monday in Damaturu.

Kyari said Mr Rotimi Amaechi secured 300 votes, while Mr Mohamed Hayatudeen polled 365 votes during the exercise.

She declared Atiku winner after securing the highest number of valid votes cast in the primary election.

“Having scored the highest number of valid votes cast, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is hereby declared winner of the ADC presidential primary election in Yobe State,” she said.

Kyari described the exercise as peaceful and conducted in line with the party’s guidelines.

She commended party members, officials and security agencies for ensuring a smooth process across the state.

The chairperson also praised aspirants and their supporters for maintaining decorum throughout the exercise.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Kassim Geidam, ADC governorship candidate in Yobe, described the primary as peaceful and successful.

Geidam said party supporters and stakeholders across Zones A, B and C actively participated in the process.

He commended party executives, security agencies and traditional rulers for supporting the peaceful conduct of the election.

The governorship candidate also appreciated media practitioners for their professionalism during the exercise.

Yesterday evening, Atiku had won the ADC presidential primary in Sokoto State by a wide margin.

Announcing the results on Monday, Chief Collation Officer, Prof. Aminu Abubakar, said Atiku secured 68,823 votes across the 23 local government areas.

Prof. Abubakar said 69,434 votes were cast during the exercise conducted across the state.

According to him, Amaechi, polled 292 votes.

But in Ebonyi, Amaechi secured 6,050 votes to emerge victorious, while Hayatu-Ddeen garnered 4,840 votes to come second, with Atiku coming a distant third with 1,210 votes. (Based largely on NAN reports)

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An African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi, has given condition to question the party’s ongoing presidential primary.

Amaechi disclosed that he would react and question the process of the primary election if it’s not free and fair.

He spoke to journalists after casting his vote at the ongoing ADC’s presidential primary in his Ward of Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

According to Amaechi: “It was a huge number of turn out, first there was celebration and dancing, then we got the INEC people involved and I did cast my vote and left the place.

“I was monitoring the country state-by-state where I was, I hope the system would be transparent as it was in my village, if it’s transparent I would accept the result but if it’s not free and fair a lot of us would react.

“The answer is yes, If the other person wins, I will work with him but if the process is not free and fair, I would question it.”

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The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has opened its presidential primary election with a mocking swipe at the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, declaring that unlike others, it would not ‘jump from 3 to 30 or from 500 to 1000’ while counting votes ahead of the 2027 general election.

The party used the commencement of its nationwide primary to portray itself as a rare example of competitive internal democracy at a time when many Nigerians believe presidential candidates are increasingly being produced through backroom deals rather than open contests.

Chairman of the ADC Presidential Primaries Election Committee, Chief Ikechi Emenike, alongside the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, and National Organising Secretary, Prince Chinedu Idigo, spoke on Monday in Abuja as voting commenced across the country to determine the party’s presidential candidate.

The race pits former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as well as economist and former Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.

Emenike said: “At a time when democratic values are increasingly being degraded within the nation’s political landscape, the ADC proudly stands out as the only political party in Nigeria presently demonstrating a genuine commitment to transparent, inclusive and democratic principles in the selection of its presidential candidate.

“Our aspirants are genuine presidential contenders, not some shadowy candidate contrived to confer legitimacy on a process where one man contested against himself.

“And as you would have seen, we know how to count properly and arithmetically. We are ADC. We will not inflate our registration numbers to deceive Nigerians. And when counting votes, we will not jump from 3 to 30 or from 500 to 1000.”

He said party members were already voting nationwide and urged them to ensure that only genuine figures were recorded during the exercise.

Meanwhile, the party spokesman, Abdullahi, insisted that the ADC remained the only party currently conducting what he described as a genuinely competitive presidential primary.

He said: “We are very proud that we are the only party conducting a real primary election in this country today. Even as we speak, none of the three aspirants can confidently tell you that he will fly the ticket of the African Democratic Congress.

“We are proud that we are giving Nigerians a truly competitive internal democratic process.”

The ADC spokesman also dismissed a rival faction that reportedly held separate congresses and announced Dumebi Kachikwu as the party’s presidential candidate.

He said: “If you go through the process with the Independent National Electoral Commission, leadership of the African Democratic Congress is not a matter for speculation. There are laid-down procedures within the organisation. There are specific processes you must go through and requirements you must meet.

“You need to submit a membership register. You need to provide details of your state officers. If you are conducting congresses, you must notify INEC and provide details across the states so the commission can monitor the process. They are expected to witness the congresses, monitor the results and supervise the entire exercise. All these processes have already started.

“So, for this issue to suddenly surface in Abuja on Sunday, we are left wondering what exactly is going on.

“This matter went up to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. It affirmed that there is only one leadership under former Senate President David Mark and former Governor Rauf Aregbesola.”

On party membership strength, Abdullahi said the ADC had 3,444,000 registered members based on records submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

“We are building a political party that is based on certain principles, one of which is transparency. So the number I have given you can be verified with INEC, and you will find it exactly as stated,” he said.

Abdullahi, however, returned to his criticism of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, accusing it of inflating membership figures ahead of the 2027 election.

He said: “What the APC is doing is amusing and laughable. They are simply setting the stage for the rigging of the 2027 election.

“By claiming that they have 20 million or 30 million members, they are trying to plant in people’s minds the idea that at least 11 million votes are already guaranteed. It is all lies.”

Also speaking, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Chinedu Idigo, said the ADC had put in place what he described as a meticulous process to ensure credible primaries across all elective positions.

“The process we have put in place is aimed at ensuring that the best candidates emerge,” he said.

On the role of INEC, Idigo said the commission had been formally notified and was monitoring the presidential primary nationwide.

He said: “We gave INEC the required notices and ensured that it attended all our primaries, from the state assembly to the governorship primaries.

“And reports reaching us today indicate that the presidential primaries are also being supervised by INEC across the federation.”