2027: Atiku and Babachir Clash on Results of ADC Presidential Nomination Contest

Babachir Lawal, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has announced his resignation from the African Democratic Congress, citing that supporting the party's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would essentially guarantee President Bola Tinubu's re-election.

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Lawal's decision to leave the party stems from his belief that the ADC's leadership manipulated the recent primary in favour of Atiku, an outcome he claims has convinced him that the party can no longer provide the desired alternative leadership ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

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In a statement, Lawal expressed his fear that Tinubu may ultimately prove to be a better president than Atiku, despite his dissatisfaction with the current administration, and stated that supporting Atiku would be equivalent to handing Tinubu an automatic path to a second term.

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Lawal, a prominent northern political figure and former ally of Tinubu, alleged that the ADC's primaries were rigged in favour of Atiku and his associates, describing the exercise as fundamentally flawed and a "disgraceful charade".

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He claimed that even in areas where voting took place, the outcomes were altered to favour preferred candidates, and that results were either written or rewritten to suit Atiku's interests.

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Lawal's decision to exit the party was also driven by his desire to avoid being associated with what he perceives as a broader political project ahead of the 2027 general election, and to distance himself from Atiku's alleged "rigging machine".

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He accused Atiku and his associates of pursuing ethnic and religious domination, stating that his convictions would not allow him to support such a cause, and that he did not join the ADC to make Nigeria "progressively worse".

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Lawal questioned Atiku's suitability for the presidency, expressing disappointment that many northern political actors had rallied behind the former vice-president despite the region's economic and security challenges.

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He predicted that Atiku's political project would eventually struggle against the machinery of the ruling party in the 2027 contest, and that the project would collapse under the weight of its contradictions.

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Lawal stated that he would spend the coming weeks consulting with like-minded associates as he considered his next political steps from outside the ADC, and that he would retreat to his village farm to watch events unfold.

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Atiku's camp, in a statement signed by Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, accused Lawal of making allegations against the primary without providing evidence, and that his concerns seemed to stem from the outcome rather than the conduct of the primaries.

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Shaibu pointed out that Lawal had selectively accepted the outcome of the ADC primaries, citing the emergence of Omar Suleiman, described as his cousin, as the party's governorship candidate in Adamawa State, and that Lawal had chosen to reject only the results that did not favour his interests.

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The Atiku camp maintained that the ADC presidential primary was conducted across thousands of wards nationwide and produced a clear outcome, and that Lawal had failed to provide evidence to support his allegations of manipulation.

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Shaibu accused Lawal of taking contradictory positions on electoral integrity, saying that while he condemned electoral manipulation, he simultaneously expressed admiration for President Tinubu's "superior rigging machine".

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He also accused Lawal of resorting to ethnic and religious narratives after failing to secure support for his preferred candidate during the primary process, and that such rhetoric offered no solutions to the country's pressing issues.

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Beyond the dispute over the primary, the Atiku camp faulted Lawal's criticism of the former vice president's family, describing it as unrelated to the issues confronting many Nigerians, such as inflation, insecurity, and unemployment.

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Shaibu defended Atiku's political standing, saying the former vice president remained one of the country's few politicians with broad national appeal, and that it was ironic for Lawal to present himself as an authority on accountability and electoral integrity given the controversy surrounding his removal from office.

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Shaibu stated that the 2027 election would ultimately be decided by the Nigerian people, and that no amount of outrage could alter that reality, adding that Atiku remained a prominent figure with national appeal.