Babachir Lawal, a former secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has asserted that he has proof that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary election was rigged.

According to reports, he made the assertion in an appearance with the Channels Television program “Politics Today.”

Lawal claims that he observed the drill while in the field.

He asserted that the statements made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s supporters were untrue and added that a criminal would not own that he was a thief.

Remember that I served as the National Vice Chairman (Northeast). I have proof because I was on the field during the drill.

By attempting to downplay their actions, Atiku’s people are the ones who are lying. All of us are human. We are aware of their actions.

He stated, “I knew the primary was rigged at the time it was completed and the results were announced.”

Lawal, meantime, has denied allegations that he took money from Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, an African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.

Lawal reportedly clarified this during an interview on Channels TV in response to claims made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s supporters that Hayatu-Deen had financial influence on him.

He maintains that he did not receive any money from the ADC candidate and claims the accusation is unfounded.

He insisted that rather than looking for help elsewhere, he could just contact President Bola Tinubu if he ever needed financial support.

The former SGF also questioned the veracity of the accusation, requesting evidence that he and Hayatu-Deen ever exchanged money. He claimed that no proof had been offered to back up the assertion.

Lawal claimed that his endorsement of Hayatu-Deen was based on the candidate’s aptitude for leadership rather than financial gain. He claimed that Hayatu-Deen’s position was informed by his competence and experience.

“I’ll call President Tinubu if I need money right now, and I’ll get it before I get home,” he declared.

Hayatu-Deen doesn’t have any money to donate. Tell me who was present when he handed me the cash. Perhaps he hasn’t delivered it yet. I’ll go get it. It’s not about money, I assure you. Hayatu-Deen was a man who offered his expertise and assistance. Atiku is not as skilled as Hayatu-Deen. They can’t even be in the same boat.

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According to Sumner Sambo, Director of Politics at Arise News, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is unwilling to resign from her current role to run alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Speaking on The Morning Show on Monday, Sambo made the statement while discussing current political rumors in advance of the general elections in 2027.

He claims that even though Okonjo-Iweala might be given the position, she is unwilling to give up what he described as a lucrative job at the WTO, where she is presently serving a second term that ends in 2029.

He went on to say that it would be improbable that she would abandon a well-secured international position for a political campaign in Nigeria, particularly one that he claimed is still dealing with political and legal ambiguities.

“Well, from what I’ve heard recently, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela may be considered and all that, but she’s not willing to actually leave a lucrative job as a DJ of the World Trade Organization to actually consider that,” he remarked.

She has informed them of this, which makes sense given that she only returned to office in September of last year and will serve a second term through 2029.

As a vice presidential candidate for a party that is currently facing legal difficulties, what will she be doing, you know? She would not consider the offer, in my opinion, since she already has a solid term there.

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Sumner Sambo, journalist at Arise Television, has said the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is not considering being the running mate of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, for the 2027 election.

Sambo disclosed this on Monday while speaking on Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’ on the ongoing political speculation that Okonjo is Atiku’s vice-presidential candidate.

Sambo, however, said that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was not ready to leave a lucrative position at the WTO where she is currently serving a second term which ends in 2029.

It was improbable, he said, that Okonjo would sacrifice a secured international appointment for a political contest in Nigeria, particularly an election still embroiled in legal and political uncertainties.

“Well, from the latest I have heard Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, though she may be considered and all of that, she is not willing to actually leave a lucrative job as a DG of the World Trade Organisation to actually consider that.

“She has made it known to them, and that is understandable because she just resumed in September last year, and she has a tenure that will run for a second term till 2029.

“So what is she going to be doing, you know, as a vice presidential candidate of a party that’s still in court, facing challenges. I think she’s already got a secure term there and wouldn’t consider the offer.”

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Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has expressed doubt on the electoral strength of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking in an interview with Symfoni TV, Bwala said he was worried that Peter Obi, who is expected to fly the flag of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), could attract more votes than Atiku in the next general election.

He said another possibility that worries him is the chance of Atiku finishing far behind other contenders in the race.

He said that would affect the legacy of the former vice president’s political career, especially if it’s his last run for the presidency.

It was reported that Bwala pointed to the difference between the political support base of Atiku in 2023 and the situation ahead of 2027.

He said that in the last presidential election, Atiku had the backing of several governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“But the political environment is not the same now. Atiku does not have the same support of powerful political figures,” he said.

No governor is currently standing behind the former vice president, he said, as the preparations for the next election gradually pick up.

“I fear Peter Obi might get more votes than Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 election and my other fear is that he might come a distant fourth.

“If that happens, his legacy as a politician in his last attempt could be impacted.

“The PDP has some governors, senators and Reps who stood by him in the 2023 election but, as at now, there is not one governor supporting him.

“The fact is that Atiku Abubakar has never in his political career commanded more votes from the North-West.

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Former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed has described his former principal, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar as not opposition leaders but office seekers.

Baba-Ahmed made the statement on Thursday while responding to questions on Trust TV.

He was talking about the upcoming 2027 general elections and the prospects of the opposition political parties.

“Peter Obi was my boss and he still remains my boss. We still have a good relationship and I hope we can somehow do something together in the very near future.

“Because I would rather move away from the individuals, speak about the variables in Nigeria politics. The variables is that most of us refer to them as opposition.

“Peter Obi and Atiku are not opposition, but mere office seekers. Opposition is active, actually technically taking on the mis-ruling government every action. You come out not only when it is time to seek certain office.

“Left to me, from right about 2023, Peter Obi and everybody else should have continued that tempo I started about constitutional breach.

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Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has described the reported dispatch of government officials with bags of rice and other palliatives to the families of Oyo kidnap victims as cruel, morally bankrupt, and an open confession of failure.

This was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

Any government that cannot protect school children has failed one of the most basic tests of leadership,” he warned.

Atiku called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately deploy all security and intelligence agencies to ensure the unconditional release of the schoolchildren and their teachers.

“The cruelty of such a response is hard to understand. Parents whose children have been ripped from their arms are not asking for rice. Mothers who don’t know if their children are hungry, sick, traumatised or even alive are not asking for palliatives.

“Dads who wake up every morning praying for a phone call to tell them their kids are safe at home aren’t looking for handouts. “What these families need is something to be done.” They need leadership. “What they need is a government that can save their children and bring the criminals responsible to justice.

“The abduction is another tragic reminder that under the Tinubu administration, insecurity has become a way of life and no longer an emergency, the former Vice President said.

What an indictment of this government that while criminals operate with impunity and impudence, innocent school kids are abducted from their classrooms and the official response is rice distribution. This is no governance. This is a failure of accountability. “It is a sad admission of failure by an administration that is becoming more and more overwhelmed by the very responsibilities it promised to undertake,” added Atiku.

He warned that normalising insecurity had pushed Nigeria to a dangerous reality where citizens lived in constant fear, noting that many Nigerian parents now budget for ransom as they budget for school fees.

“There must be consequences for those preying on innocent Nigerians. “Anything less than that will only embolden other criminal gangs and put more communities at risk,” warned Atiku.

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The Presidency has raised security concern over comments made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal against the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar.

Babachir while announcing his resignation from the ADC on Monday alleged that Atiku is a manipulator, saying that the outcome of the recently concluded primary election of the party was predetermined to favour the former vice president.

He said the general elections at all levels were “massively rigged in favour of Kachalla Abubakar Atiku”.

He claimed the results of the polls were “just written or rewritten to favour him and his coven”.

Reacting, Presidential spokesperson, Daniel Bwala in a post on his official X handle said what the former SGF “said about the candidate of ADC if verified is scary and will undermine the national security of Nigeria”.

His principal, he said, was still the best candidate even as he said the plans of opposition leaders scheming to remove President Tinubu in 2027 had been exposed.

“In the last two or three months, these people were saying they were made from heaven as one indivisible and indissoluble coalition sent by God to come and rescue Nigeria; and alas all their intentions and plans have been exposed,” Bwala said.

And with the allegations against some of the opposition candidates, the “choice for 2027 has never been more clearer he said. President Tinubu is in all honesty a million miles ahead of them”.

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The Presidency has reacted to comments made by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal against the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar.

It was reported that Lawal, while announcing his resignation from the ADC on Monday, had accused Atiku of influencing the outcome of the recently held primaries of the party.

He alleged the primaries were rigged to favour the former Vice-President.

The former SGF alleged that the primaries at all levels were “massively rigged in favour of Kachalla Abubakar Atiku.”

He also claimed that the results of the polls were “just written or rewritten to favor him and his coven.”

In a reaction on 𝕏, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said Lawal’s comments, if verified, raised serious national security concerns.

WOW, Did Babachir Lawal use ChatGPT or Grok in writing the ratio decidendi of his resignation from ADC? “What he said about the ADC candidate if validated or verified is scary and will undermine the national security of Nigeria,” Bwala wrote.

The presidential aide also lambasted the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). He alleged the party’s candidate also held wrong views on democracy and governance.

He continued, “The NDC that Babachir wants to join also has a candidate whose ideological beliefs about democracy and good governance is also equally a flawed thought process and repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.

“You need to hear Babachir’s own words on Arise primetime and Channels TV interviews on Peter Obi, which aired only a few weeks ago, to know what in law we call ‘confessional statement.’

Recent developments have exposed the motives of opposition figures who once described themselves as a united coalition, Bwala said.

“Just two or three months ago, these people were talking about how they were made from heaven as one indivisible and indissoluble coalition sent by God to come and rescue Nigeria; and alas, all their intentions and plans have been exposed.

Never has the choice for 2027 been so obvious with this. To be fair, President Tinubu is a million miles ahead of them. Take this to the bank, and cash it.”

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Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal, has promised to modify his plans and consult with like-minded colleagues on strategies to stop the African Democratic, Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, from coming close to the presidential office.

Lawal said this in a statement on Monday, following his resignation from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

It was gathered that Lawal dumped the ADC because the party’s presidential primary election was rigged in favour of Atiku.

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The ex-SGF said he would be watching ‘Kachalla’ Atiku and his band of wicked vote riggers and result manipulators mercilessly out-rigged and beaten to pulp by President Bola Tinubu’s ruthless and superior rigging machine.

“I will be adjusting my future plans and talking to like-minded colleagues on how to prevent this incompetent octogenarian from getting anywhere near the presidential office.

I will, meanwhile, retire to my village farm, from where I will be watching Kachalla Atiku and his band of wicked vote riggers and result manipulators mercilessly out-rigged and beaten to pulp by Tinubu’s ruthless and superior rigging machine.

“Then bye-bye to this octogenarian presidential aspirant. It will be bye-bye to the North for preferring a religious hegemonist over a competent world renowned economist and corporate guru,” he said.

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Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) citing alleged irregularities in the party’s just concluded primaries.

Lawal was quoted as alleging in a statement on Monday, June 1, 2026 that the primaries were heavily compromised in favour of the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar.

He said the process was rigged to produce pre-determined outcomes, undermining fairness and internal democracy in the party.

The alleged irregularities were unacceptable, said the ex-SGF, who conveyed his decision to leave the ADC.

“I am leaving the ADC because its primaries just ended were rigged at all levels in favour of Kachalla Abubakar Atiku,” Lawal said.

He also blamed party stakeholders for keeping quiet over the alleged flaws in the process.

“I sense a conspiracy of silence of which I want no part. ‘Most of the members of the party are acting like this is the normal thing to do,’ he added.

Lawal, who left the PDP, also announced his opposition to Atiku’s alleged presidential ambition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said backing the former Vice-President could indirectly boost President Bola Tinubu’s bid for re-election.

He also asked about the political leaning of the opposition people supporting Atiku, stressing that the choice of who leads should be based on competence and national interest, not sentiment or loyalty.

Lawal said he will be taking a break from active political engagements. He said that he would consult with allies on the next direction of his political engagement.

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