Isaac Samuel
The camp of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday accused former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, of applyingdouble standards in his criticism of the party’s recently concluded primaries.
The response followed Lawal’s resignation from the African Democratic Congress and his allegation that the party’s presidential primary was manipulated in favour of Atiku.
In a statement issued by Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president’s camp dismissed the allegations as baseless and challenged Lawal to provide evidence to support his claims.
Shaibu argued that Lawal had failed to explain why he was questioning the credibility of the primary process while accepting outcomes that favoured his associates.
According to him, the same primary process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate also produced Lawal’s cousin, Omar Suleiman, as the ADC governorship candidate in Adamawa State.
“Mr Lawal has also failed to explain how the very same primary process he now dismisses as fraudulent somehow produced a result he appears perfectly willing to accept 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 only rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support.”
The Atiku camp maintained that the presidential primary reflected the wishes of party members across the country, insisting that no evidence had been presented to substantiate allegations of rigging.
Lawal was removed from office in 2017 following allegations linked to contracts awarded through the Presidential Initiative on the North-East, a controversy that became widely known as the “grass-cutting scandal.” He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Atiku’s camp further argued that Lawal’s criticisms were driven more by dissatisfaction with the outcome of the primary than by genuine concerns about electoral integrity.
“What appears to have truly unsettled Mr Lawal is not the conduct of the primaries but the outcome. Democracy guarantees participation, not victory. One cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred result and suddenly condemn it as rigged when it does not.”
The statement also faulted what it described as Lawal’s resort to ethnic and religious sentiments in his criticisms of the primary.
“Having failed to persuade ADC members to embrace his preferred candidate, he now seeks refuge in the divisive politics of identity,” Shaibu said.
Such rhetoric, he argued, does little to address the country’s pressing challenges.
“It creates no jobs, lowers no food prices, secures no communities, and offers no pathway out of the national crisis.”
Defending Atiku’s political credentials, Shaibu maintained that the 2027 election would be decided by Nigerians based on issues of governance, economic recovery and national security rather than internal party disputes.
“The Nigerian people know Atiku Abubakar. They know his record in public service. They know his achievements in business. They know his commitment to national unity and economic reform,” he stressed.
While insisting that Atiku remained focused on presenting solutions to Nigeria’s challenges, the statement concluded that no amount of post-primary controversy would alter the outcome of the ADC presidential contest.
“The 2027 election will not be decided by tantrums, ethnic dog whistles, recycled grievances, or revisionist history. It will be decided by the Nigerian people. And no amount of post-primary bitterness can alter that reality.”
