ADC primary shows democracy can work in Nigeria — David Mark

The event ended with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerging as the presidential candidate of the ADC for the 2027 general election after defeating former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and former banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.

Results announced at the venue showed that Atiku secured 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who polled 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen received 177,120 votes. The total votes cast stood at 2,546,457 from over three million registered party members eligible for the exercise.

Following the announcement of the results, David Mark officially presented the ADC flag to Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate for the next general election.

Speaking after the declaration, the former Senate President said the primary election was not only about producing a candidate but also about proving that democracy can still function properly in the country when political parties follow due process.

Mark stated that many Nigerians had doubted the party’s ability to organise a peaceful and transparent exercise. According to him, some people expected confusion, division and crisis within the ADC, but the party succeeded in conducting the process peacefully.

He praised party members for standing by the ADC throughout the exercise and said their commitment helped strengthen the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

The ADC chairman also commended members of the Presidential Screening Committee and the Presidential Primary Election Committee for managing the exercise despite pressure and public attention surrounding the contest.

According to him, the committees handled their responsibilities professionally and helped maintain confidence in the integrity of the process.

Mark further praised Atiku, Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen for participating in the contest, describing their involvement as proof that the party believes in internal democracy and open competition.

He noted that the ADC was able to present three strong aspirants for the presidential race and still conduct the process without major crisis, unlike what is often seen in many political parties.

The former Senate President said the aspirants strengthened democracy by willingly participating in the primary instead of forcing consensus arrangements on the party.

The ADC began its presidential primary process on Monday, May 25, 2026, using the direct primary system after efforts to convince the aspirants to step down for a consensus candidate reportedly failed.