ABUJA — Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has resigned from the African Democratic Congress, accusing the party leadership of rigging its presidential primary in favour of Atiku Abubakar.

Lawal said supporting Atiku’s presidential ambition in 2027 would amount to handing President Bola Tinubu an automatic second term victory.

In a statement released on Monday, the former ADC North-East zonal chairman claimed the party’s primary process was manipulated at different levels to favour Atiku and his political allies.

“For me, supporting Atiku Abubakar would amount to handing President Tinubu an automatic path to a second term,” Lawal said.

“Ironically, I have come to fear that Tinubu may ultimately prove a better president than Atiku could ever be, despite my dissatisfaction with the current administration.”

Lawal alleged that election results during the primaries were altered to favour candidates loyal to Atiku, describing the exercise as a “disgraceful charade.”

“I am exiting the ADC because its just concluded primaries were massively rigged in favour of Kachalla Atiku. Even where elections held, winners were replaced with members of his syndicate,” he stated.

The former SGF also accused Atiku and his associates of pursuing what he described as ethnic and religious political interests, adding that he could not be part of what he called a flawed political project ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to him, the North should be focused on finding a leader capable of addressing insecurity and poverty rather than backing “ineffective leadership.”

Lawal further predicted that Atiku’s political structure would eventually struggle against the ruling party’s machinery in the next general election.

Reacting swiftly, Atiku’s camp dismissed Lawal’s claims, saying he was only bitter because his preferred candidate lost the primary.

In a statement signed by Atiku’s media aide, Phrank Shaibu, the camp accused Lawal of failing to provide any evidence to support allegations of manipulation.

“What appears to have unsettled Mr. Lawal is not the conduct of the primaries but the outcome. Democracy guarantees participation, not victory,” Shaibu said.

The Atiku camp also accused Lawal of selective outrage, noting that he accepted the outcome of other ADC primaries, including the emergence of his relative, Omar Suleiman, as the party’s governorship candidate in Adamawa State.

Shaibu added that Lawal’s criticisms were rooted in political disappointment rather than genuine concerns about electoral integrity.

“Having failed to persuade ADC members to support his preferred candidate, he now seeks refuge in ethnic and religious narratives,” the statement said.

The Atiku camp maintained that the ADC presidential primary followed due process and insisted that the 2027 election would ultimately be decided by Nigerians, not by post-primary disputes or personal attacks.