The camp of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the African Democratic Congress presidential primary in Imo State, describing the exercise that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as winner as illegitimate.
Speaking in Owerri on Tuesday, the Orlu Zonal Coordinator of the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi Imo Campaign Structure and Convener of the Movement for Amaechi’s Presidency, Chigozie Alex, insisted that no genuine primary election took place across most parts of the state.
According to him, many registered party members who turned up to vote were unable to participate because polling locations, officials and voting materials were either absent or undisclosed.
Alex alleged that Amaechi’s supporters and accredited agents were deliberately excluded from the process.
“Most wards never conducted any election,” he said. “Our members came out ready to vote but found no officials, no materials and no designated polling centres. In places where voting was said to have occurred, our agents were not informed of the locations and were completely shut out.”
He further accused local party officials and some House of Assembly aspirants of compromising the exercise in favour of a rival candidate.
“What happened was not a direct primary but a secret selection carried out away from party members and without transparency,” Alex claimed. “The process violated both the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act.”
The Amaechi camp is now demanding the cancellation of the Imo primary and the conduct of a fresh exercise across all wards in the state, insisting that any credible rerun must allow full participation by party members and accredited agents.
Despite the protest, the African Democratic Congress maintained that the primary was valid and properly conducted.
Announcing the results, Chairman of the ADC National Presidential Primary Electoral Panel for Imo State, Eko Atu, said Atiku secured a decisive victory across the state’s 305 wards and 27 local government areas.
According to the official figures, Atiku polled 52,200 votes to defeat Amaechi, who scored 7,659 votes, while Mohammed Hayatudeen came third with 1,121 votes.
The dispute adds another layer of tension to the ADC presidential race as party leaders continue collating and defending results from across the country.
