Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken an early lead in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary election after winning in five states.
The contest is being held nationwide to pick the party’s presidential nominee for the 2027 general election, the report said.
Atiku is competing against former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and economist, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
The ADC national leadership has not officially released the final collated results from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. But data obtained from some states indicated that Atiku was in a commanding lead.
The former vice president was said to have won in Gombe, Abia, Ebonyi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
The Returning Officer in Gombe State, Prof. David Agbu, declared the results saying Atiku garnered 139,334 votes.
Amaechi came second with 1,150 votes while Hayatu-Deen scored 464 votes.
Atiku also won in Abia State with 25,153 votes against Amaechi’s 18,339 votes. Hayatu-Deen received 3,264 votes.
The results announced in Ebonyi State by Fred Onwe, the ADC National Vice Chairman, Diaspora, showed that Atiku polled 15,300 votes.
Amaechi got 2,200 votes and Hayatu-Deen got 200.
Atiku scored 68,823 votes in Sokoto State while Amaechi got 292 votes and Hayatu-Deen polled 319 votes.
Atiku got 60,500 votes in Zamfara State. Hayatu-Deen scored 436 votes while Amaechi scored 191 votes.
The ADC primary is one of the major tests of strength within the opposition as parties continue realignments ahead of the 2027 elections.
Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), remains one of the most influential figures in opposition politics.
Amaechi was campaigning on internal party democracy and institutional reforms while Hayatu-Deen was campaigning on private sector led growth and economic restructuring.
Party officials are expected to announce the full results after collating from the remaining states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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