Back allegations with evidence, Atiku fires back at Babachir

The camp of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed allegations by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, that the party’s presidential primary was manipulated, insisting that no evidence has been presented to support the claim.

In a statement issued on Monday by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, the former vice president’s camp described Lawal’s allegations as baseless and politically motivated.

The rebuttal followed Lawal’s resignation from the ADC on Monday, during which he alleged that the presidential primary that produced Atiku as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 election was rigged.

According to him, Lawal has produced no documents, witnesses or verifiable facts to back his allegations.

“The ADC presidential primary was conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear and decisive outcome. What Mr Lawal has offered Nigerians is speculation, not evidence,” Shaibu stated.

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The Atiku camp also questioned Lawal’s consistency, noting that he had accepted the outcome of the same process in Adamawa State, where his cousin, Omar Suleiman, emerged as the ADC governorship candidate.

“Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the process was only credible when it favoured his family and suddenly became rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support,” the statement added.

Shaibu further argued that Lawal’s criticism was driven by disappointment over the outcome of the contest rather than genuine concerns about internal democracy.

“What appears to have unsettled Mr Lawal is not the conduct of the primaries but the result. Democracy guarantees participation, not victory. One cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred outcome and condemn it when it does not,” he said.

The statement also cautioned against attempts to inject ethnic or religious sentiments into internal party disagreements, warning that such narratives could deepen divisions within the polity.

Atiku’s camp maintained that the former vice president remains focused on issues of governance, economic recovery and national security ahead of the 2027 general election, insisting that Nigerians, not party disputes, will ultimately determine the outcome of the presidential contest.