ADC presidential primary election was not fraudulent – Atiku’s aide says to Babachir Lawal

The Special Assistant to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Phrank Shaibu, who handles public communication for the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has denied that the primary election that selected the former vice‑president as the party’s flag bearer was fraudulent.

Shaibu dismissed allegations from former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, that the ADC’s primary election was rigged.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Shaibu maintained that the primary was not manipulated.

He said the responsibility to prove the allegations lies with Lawal.

According to Shaibu, Atiku was the most popular among the candidates, which also included former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu‑Deen, making his victory unsurprising.

“Anybody who claims rigging or irregularity in the last election should check the places and locations they won. Where are the states that Rotimi Amaechi won?” he said. “If you check the figures and the margins he got there, you will know that those are his strongholds. It was not a fraudulent process,” Shaibu added.

Shaibu also compared Lawal’s reaction to that of a baby throwing a tantrum after being taken away from its mother’s breast.

“Babachir reminds me of a baby who is yanked off her mother’s breast while suckling. It is like a deprived suckling; definitely the baby will throw tantrums,” Shaibu said. “He admitted on your show that his preferred candidate was Hayatu‑Deen. He worked for him,” he added.