2027 presidency: Controversies trail ADC primaries; court clears Jonathan

By Clifford Ndujihe, Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Luminous Jannamike & Jeff Agbodo

LAGOS — Controversies heralded the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential primaries, yesterday, as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar awaited official announcement as the winner, having beaten former Rivers State governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and Economist, Mohammed Hayattu-Deen in most states of the federation in the exercises held nationwide on Monday.

Amaechi and Hayattu-Deen kicked against the conduct of the primaries, alleging irregularities, with Hayattu-Deen boycotting the results announcement and Amaechi accusing the leadership of disenfranchising members and manipulating the process.

This happened on a day a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, affirmed that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election.

In a judgment by Justice Peter Lifu, the court held that there is no legal impediment preventing Jonathan from seeking a return to the presidency. The former president has been adopted as sole presidential aspirant of the Kabiru Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The verdict has cleared the coast for the battle of heavyweights in the 2027 presidential poll.

This was as former governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke, clinched the ticket of People’s Redemption Party, PRP; Mr Omoyele Sowore emerged as consensus candidate of  African Action Congress, AAC; while Senator Sandy Onor won the primaries of the Nyesom Wike-backed, PDP.

As it is, the courts may decide who emerges as the authentic flag-bearer of the PDP between Jonathan and Onor.

The Turaki and Wike camps are claiming victory in a recent Supreme Court judgement on the leadership crisis in the party. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on its website recognised the Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led faction, backed by FCT Minister, Wike.

With former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, being sole presidential aspirant of Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, the 2027 poll is panning out as a four-horse race among President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC; Atiku Abubakar of the ADC, Jonathan of PDP, and Obi.

However, a keen challenge is expected from Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim of Accord, Donald Duke of PRP and Sowore of AAC, among others.

Controversies herald ADC primaries

Meanwhile, ahead of the collation and announcement of the ADC primaries by the Chief Ikechi Emenike committee, controversies trailed the exercise, yesterday with Amaechi and Hayattu-Deen alleging irregularities as factions of the party in Ebonyi State held parallel exercises in 171 wards of the state. While one of the factions declared Atiku as winner the other announced Amaechi as winner.

The Atiku camp announced its result at Preston Hotel, Abakaliki, which served as its designated collation centre.

Declaring the outcome on behalf of the “Ebonyi State Presidential Primary Election Committee,” the alleged Chairman of the committee and ADC National Vice Chairman (Diaspora), Fred Onwe, said Atiku polled 15,300 votes to defeat Amaechi, who secured 2,200 votes, while Muhammad Hayatudeen garnered 200 votes.

Earlier in the day, the Ebonyi ADC leadership led by State Chairman, Mrs Jennifer Adibe-Nwafor, supervised a separate presidential primary election at the party secretariat along the old Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, where Amaechi emerged victorious.

Announcing the result, the Coordinator of Electoral Matters and Returning Officer, Bassey Edogi Imoke, said that Amaechi polled 6,050 votes to defeat Atiku, who secured 1,210 votes, while Hayattudeen got 4,840 votes.

Hayattu-Deen alleges rigging, boycotts result announcement

However, Hayatu-Deen, yesterday, boycotted announcement of the results, alleging widespread vote-rigging.

In a statement, the presidential aspirant said reports from across the country, including incidents he claimed to have personally witnessed, had raised serious concerns about the integrity of the process.

His words: “I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”

His decision to stay away from the result declaration immediately fuelled uncertainty within the party and raised the prospect of a dispute over the outcome of the primary.

The ADC had earlier portrayed its primary as a departure from what it described as the manipulated nomination processes associated with some of Nigeria’s major political parties.

Although Hayatu-Deen did not provide details of the alleged irregularities or indicate what action he may take, his remarks suggested the controversy surrounding the exercise could outlast the declaration of results.

You can’t condemn rigging and write results, Amaechi tells ADC

Also rejecting the results, Amaechi accused the leadership of disenfranchising members and manipulating the process.

In a statement posted on X, Amaechi said he was rejecting what he described as ‘concocted results’ following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement during the primary across the country.

His words: “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.”

The former Rivers State governor alleged that nearly 80 per cent of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise. “There’s no way that about eighty per cent 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?” he asked.

Amaechi said the ADC was created to give ordinary Nigerians a voice and offer a genuine alternative to the kind of politics it once condemned.

Criticising the party leadership, Amaechi said: “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 that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!”

Jonathan’s eligibility

The court noted that the issue of Jonathan’s eligibility has already been decided by a Division of the Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

Justice Lifu said he was bound by those existing judgments and dismissed as frivolous and an abuse of process the legal action brought by an Abuja-based legal practitioner against the former president.

The court found that the plaintiff, Mr. Jideobi Johnmary, lacked locus standi (the legal standing to sue), having failed to establish any cognizable loss arising from his assumption that Jonathan intends to participate in the forthcoming presidential contest.

It upheld preliminary objections that ex-President Jonathan and Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, who are defendants in the matter, filed to challenge the competence of the suit.

Although, INEC was also listed as a defendant, it failed to file any process either in support of or in opposition to the plaintiff’s claim.

While dismissing the suit for want of merit, Justice Lifu awarded costs of N20 million against the plaintiff, to be paid to Jonathan.

The court also awarded costs of N1 million against the plaintiff, to be paid to the AGF.

The lawyer, in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, queried Jonathan’s eligibility on the premise that he had already been sworn in as President on two occasions.

The Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the PDP, had earlier offered Jonathan a waiver as the party’s sole presidential candidate.

Although Jonathan has not formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, insinuations are rife that he may be considering a return to the presidency.

AAC picks Sowore

Elsewhere, the AAC adopted human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, as its consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The decision was announced during the party’s presidential primary, where members unanimously endorsed Sowore to fly the party’s flag in the next presidential contest. Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, Kayode Babayemi, said the adoption of Sowore reflected the confidence the party has in his commitment to democracy, justice and good governance.

“I declare Omoyele Sowore as the consensus presidential candidate of the African Action Congress,” Babayemi said.

Accepting the nomination, Sowore described the AAC as the only genuine opposition party in Nigeria, insisting that the party remains committed to offering Nigerians a credible alternative.

According to him, the party has survived political pressure and remained independent of godfatherism and corrupt influences.

“While some claimed there was no alternative to dictatorship, we declared RevolutionNow in 2019,” he said.

Sowore also dismissed calls for a coalition with established political parties, maintaining that the AAC itself represents a coalition for revolutionary change.

Donald Duke emerges PRP flag bearer

Also, the PRP declared Donald Duke as its presidential flag bearer for the 2027 general elections.

The party’s National Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who made the announcement at the PRP national secretariat in Abuja, said Duke secured the presidential ticket after scoring the highest votes at the primary election.

Baba-Ahmed stated that Duke swept the polls with 6,499 votes, with his closest rival, Kingsley Yakubu, who mounted a nationwide campaign focusing on youth inclusion and economic reform, scoring 2,699 votes.

He said that Dr Nnaoke Ufere, an academic and policy expert, got third place with 784 votes.

While declaring the official results, Baba-Ahmed said that the exercise was free, credible and devoid of any form of bias.

He, however, said that any contestant who felt aggrieved with the electoral process should seek redress before the party’s Appeal Committee.

Indeed, Dr Nnaoke Ufere has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary, presenting arithmetic evidence it says proves the declared results were manipulated in favour of Duke.

In a statement by Ishaq Alhassan, Executive Director of the Ufere 2027 Presidential Campaign, the organization accused officials of inflating votes beyond the ceiling set by the official membership register submitted to the INEC on May 4 2026.

PDP picks Onor as sole candidate

In like manner, the Wike-backed PDP adopted Senator Sandy Onor as its consensus presidential candidate, and declared itself as the only opposition force capable of taking power from the ruling APC.

Speaking at the event in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Primary Election Committee, Dr Samuel Ortom; the party’s National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman; and Onor all presented the consensus process as evidence that the PDP had regained stability and political direction.

Announcing the outcome of consultations conducted across the 36 states and the FCT, Ortom formally declared Onor as the party’s consensus candidate.

Ortom said: “Having conducted consultations across the 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT, I am pleased to formally announce that we have adopted Professor Sandy Onor as the consensus candidate of our great party for the 2027 presidential election.”

Abdulrahman also commended officials of the INEC for monitoring the party’s congresses, primaries and convention activities across the country.

In his acceptance speech, Onor declared that the PDP had finally moved beyond the prolonged internal battles that weakened the party in recent years.

“Today, we have reclaimed our party, the legacy party, the Peoples Democratic Party. Today, we have a leadership that is united, purposeful and visionary,” he said.

Onor also used the occasion to dismiss the ADC coalition as an unstable alliance driven more by personal ambition than shared political direction.

He said: “The point I am making is that if you are looking for any party with the capacity to contend with the ruling APC, that party is the PDP.”

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