The rejection of the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary by Mr. Chibuike Amaechi is a red flag for what is coming in the 2027 general elections. If a party that sees itself and one corporate entity, sharing the same goals and aspiration cannot conduct a fair and free acceptable internal election, how would INEC conduct an acceptable national election for disparate parties that hold different goals, aspirations and ideology? It is an uphill task for INEC to conduct acceptable election, meaning that Nigerians should get ready for election “war.”
Aside from ADC, there are disputes in other parties’ primaries for 2027, though none at the presidential level yet. Most of the contesting is at National Assembly and governorship primaries:
Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen both rejected the May 26, 2026 presidential primary, alleging 80 percent of members were disenfranchised and results were “concocted”. Atiku Abubakar was leading in preliminary results. No official ADC leadership response has been released yet.
There is contention in the APC National Assembly/Governorship results not Presidential. Kwara State: APC Chairman Sunday Fagbemi dismissed circulating results for Senate/House primaries as fake. He said only the NWC can release results, and none had been released for Kwara.
There is competing claims over Kwara South Senatorial District primary. For the presidency, APC held direct primaries and declared Bola Tinubu winner with 10,999,162 votes. No other aspirant has contested that result publicly.
The other parties are not left out. APGA held primaries May 23, 2026 for president, governors and NASS. No public contestation reported yet. Forms cost ₦75m for president.
For AAC, Omoyele Sowore confirmed he’s running. No dispute reported. PDP, LP, NNPP, no major disputes reported for 2027 primaries yet. Most focus is on coalition talks with ADC.
ADC is more in the news becauseit is positioning itself as the main opposition platform for 2027. The coalition talks with Atiku, Obi, and Kwankwaso make its primary more visible. Disputes in APC and PDP primaries usually happen at state level and get resolved internally or in court.
If you meant the 2023 presidential primaries, those were mostly resolved before the general election, with only minor court cases. It is not clear if any of the ADC or APC disputes have gone to court yet.
Presidential primaries in Nigeria are how political parties pick their candidate for the presidential election. They’re run by the parties, but under rules set by INEC and the Electoral Ac
Parties can use direct primaries whereby all registered party members vote, or indirect primaries in which case the elected delegates vote, or consensus. Electoral Act 2026 mandates parties to use either consensus or direct primaries. INEC must monitor and receive notice, but can’t set timelines beyond what the Act allows.
INEC originally set April 23–May 30, 2026 for party primaries. A Federal High Court in May 2026 voided parts of INEC’s timetable, ruling INEC can’t shorten the 120-day pre-election deadline for submitting candidates’ particulars.
Membership register of parties must be submitted digitally to INEC at least 21 days before primaries.
In the 2023 primaries, APC held indirect primaries in June 2022. Bola Tinubu won with 1,271 votes (60.5%), beating Rotimi Amaechi 316 votes, Yemi Osinbajo 235 votes. PDP held indirect primaries May 28, 2022. Atiku Abubakar won and picked Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate. Peter Obi emerged as LP candidate. Rabiu Kwankwaso was sole candidate for NNPP. Tinubu won the general elections with 8,794,726 votes.
For the 2027 primaries what’s so far APC held direct primaries across all 8,809 wards on May 23, 2026. This was the first time APC used direct voting for a presidential primary. President Bola Tinubu ran unopposed except for Stanley Osifo. Tinubu got 10,999,162 votes vs Osifo’s 16,503. He received the certificate of return and party flag on May 24, 2026, formally starting his 2027 campaign.
APGA scheduled its primaries for May 23, 2026. Presidential nomination forms cost ₦75m total. AAC’s Omoyele Sowore confirmed he’s running. AAC primaries were set for late May 2026.
For opposition coalition, talks of an alliance between Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso under the ADC was being canvassed. Both Atiku and Obi were eyeing the ADC ticket. PDP has zoned its presidency to the South, which has split northern support. For the 2027 elections, direct primaries are gaining ground. APC’s ward-level voting is meant to reduce the power of a few delegates.
Courts have ruled that INEC overstepped bounds by shortening statutory timelines for primaries and candidate submission.The high cost of forms are still a barrier. APC had a viral “price list” circulating, but denied it. APGA officially pegged presidential forms at ₦75m.
Nigeria’s general election is usually decided by which party manages its primaries better. Low voter turnout in 2023 (26.71%) – means the largest bloc is non-voters. Whoever mobilizes them in primaries and the general election wins. The 2027 general election was scheduled for January 16, 2027 for President and National Assembly.
Back to ADC’s primaries, Rotimi Amaechi rejected the ADC presidential primary results held on May 26, 2026 because he said the process was rigged and most members were shut out.
Amaechi claimed “about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote”. He said registered members showed up but were turned away because there were no officials, no materials, and no polling units in many ward
He alleged secret selection, not a real primary. His Imo State campaign coordinator said where voting happened, it was in hidden locations without accredited agents present. He called it a “secret selection” rather than a direct primary.
Amaechi alleged that the returning officers were LGA chairmen and House of Assembly aspirants who had been “compromised by agents of a rival candidate”. He argued this violated electoral integrity and the ADC constitution.
He accused the ADC leadership of doing exactly what it condemns in the APC and INEC: vote buying, writing results, and voter suppression. “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”.
ADC he said broke his own condition for acceptance. Before the primary, Amaechi said he would only accept the outcome if it was “free, fair, and transparent”. He said the May 26 exercise failed that standard, so he “unequivocally rejected the concocted results being announced”.
The primary declared former Vice President Atiku Abubakar the winner. Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, another aspirant, also rejected the results and boycotted the announcement.
This rejection has opened a fresh crisis in the ADC ahead of 2027, since the party has been positioning itself as a credible opposition alternative.
What did ADC leadership say in response to Amaechi
As of now, there hasn’t been an official public rebuttal from the ADC national leadership directly addressing Amaechi’s claims.
The ADC primary results were still being collated when Amaechi spoke out
Reports say preliminary results from several states showed Atiku Abubakar leading by wide margins, but final collation was still ongoing in Abuja. The party hadn’t issued a formal statement defending the process at that point.
The coverage from Vanguard, Channels, Premium Times, Punch, and Arise TV all quote Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen rejecting the results, but none included a statement from the ADC National Working Committee or the Primary Election Committee responding to the allegations of disenfranchisement and rig
The ADC Presidential Primary Elections Committee was moving ahead with collation in Abuja. In Imo State, the Amaechi campaign said no voting happened and accused LGA chairmen and House of Assembly aspirants who served as returning officers of being “compromised by agents of a rival candidate”.
Hayatu-Deen also rejected the process and boycotted the results announcement. The ADC leadership’s position hasn’t been made public in response to Amaechi yet. The lack of a response is part of why Amaechi’s camp is calling it a “secret selection” and saying the party is acting like the APC and INEC it criticizes. If the ADC NWC releases a statement, it’ll likely come after the final collation and declaration of the winner.
Dr. Onyekakeyah, former member of The Guardian Editorial Board, is a public affairs commentator and Daily Query columnist.
