Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress, announced on Tuesday that he would not attend the official announcement of the party’s presidential primary results after raising concerns about how the exercise was conducted.
The decision came as the party continued collating results from its nationwide primary held ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Hayatu-Deen said his action followed reports and observations that raised questions about the credibility of the voting process.
According to information released through his official communication, the former banker said he received reports from different locations alleging irregularities during the election and also claimed to have personally witnessed some issues while the exercise was ongoing.
Following these concerns, he said he would first seek guidance and review available options before deciding on his next political move within the party.
The ADC presidential primary took place across Nigeria on Monday, with voting conducted in thousands of wards and local government areas as delegates participated in selecting the party’s presidential candidate for the next general election.
Three major aspirants took part in the contest. They included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
The primary moved ahead after attempts by party stakeholders to agree on a consensus candidate did not succeed.
Hayatu-Deen is also known for previously seeking the Peoples Democratic Party presidential ticket in 2022 before withdrawing shortly before the final stage of the contest.
His absence from the result announcement adds a fresh development to the ADC primary process at a time political parties are positioning ahead of the 2027 elections. Attention now remains on the final outcome of the exercise and whether his concerns will lead to further action within the party.