Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for 2027, has alleged that there were malpractices in the ongoing presidential primaries of the party.
After participating in the exercise in Borno, he said on Monday that he has received reports from parts of the country of some ugly and disturbing malpractices in the ADC presidential primaries.
He added that some persons have been calling him and putting pressure on him to step down for another aspirant.
However, the Borno politician said that despite the complaints, the primary election in his own ward was peaceful and satisfactory.
He also called upon the party leaders to face the challenges and malpractices to save the image of the ADC before 2027.
He said: “Today is a momentous day as the ADC presidential primaries are still ongoing. “I’m coming from my ward where it’s peaceful and the people have said that they will vote massively for my candidature.”
“But I want to bring to the notice of the country some ugly and disturbing malpractices. “Firstly, I have received a number of phone calls from people asking me to step down for a particular candidate, saying that my candidature is going to create problems for the party.
“This has to be a free, fair and transparent election. Everyone who is eligible to hold any office has a right to offer his services. I have taken the presidential screening exercise. The ADC has issued a press statement that Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi have been cleared to contest the primaries.
“It is inconceivable that anyone would have the audacity to demand my resignation for the sake of a specific candidate. This morning and this afternoon in Kaduna State, as party faithful gathered, they were told a consensus has been reached and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen has stepped down.
“Even as at 5pm, the election has not taken place in Zaria where I have a lot of supporters. Rights were withheld from people. This act is a crime and a fraud. We are not going to take this criminality and we are going to fight it to the death.”
Hayatudeen also said that the people of Southern Borno gathered in large numbers and voted peacefully in the morning.
However, he said, the electoral officers who were supposed to collate the results did not fill in the result sheets and instead walked away to a secluded area to fill in the result sheets in the absence of the voters.
But he pledged himself to fight to the last.
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