Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday visited former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi at his residence in Abuja following the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general election.
The meeting took place a day after Atiku emerged as the party’s presidential candidate during the primary election held at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja. He was accompanied by former Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambuwal, former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, and other senior party members.
Atiku won the primary after defeating Amaechi and former banker Mohammed Hayatu-Deen in the contest. Official results released by the party showed that Atiku secured 1,846,370 votes, while Amaechi received 504,117 votes and Hayatu-Deen polled 177,120 votes.
After the result was announced on Wednesday night, former Senate President David Mark presented the party’s flag to Atiku as the ADC candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
The party adopted the direct primary system after all three aspirants rejected suggestions for a consensus arrangement before the exercise.
Following his victory, Atiku appealed to party members and other aspirants to remain united ahead of the general election. He called on Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen to work with him in building the party and preparing for the next election.
The former vice president also said the outcome of the primary should not divide party members, adding that the focus should remain on strengthening the ADC before 2027.
Despite the appeal, reports indicated that both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen were unhappy with the conduct of the primary. The two aspirants reportedly raised concerns over irregularities during the voting process, while Hayatu-Deen was absent during the official declaration of results.
Details of the closed-door meeting between Atiku and Amaechi were not made public as of Thursday evening, but the visit has continued to attract political attention following tensions from the party primary.