Atiku Blasts Babachir Lawal Over ADC Primary, Says Ex-SGF Bitter

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has blasted former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, over his criticism of the party’s presidential primary, accusing him of making unsubstantiated allegations and attempting to discredit a democratic process he could not influence.

Lawal, who announced his resignation from the ADC on Monday, had alleged that Atiku influenced the outcome of the party’s presidential primaries conducted across the country and questioned the credibility of the exercise.

However, in a statement issued on behalf of the former Vice President by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the Atiku firmly rejected the allegations, insisting that the presidential primary reflected the genuine will of party members nationwide.

Responding to Lawal’s claims, Shaibu said it had become necessary to address what he described as attempts to malign both the party and its members.

“Having chosen to malign a democratic process, insult thousands of ADC members nationwide, and make grave allegations without presenting a shred of evidence, it has become necessary to set the record straight,” the statement said.

Atiku maintained that Lawal had failed to provide any credible evidence to support his allegations that the primary election was manipulated.

“The truth is straightforward. The ADC presidential primaries were conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear and decisive outcome.

“What Mr Lawal has offered Nigerians is not evidence. He has produced no documents, no verifiable facts, no credible witnesses, and no proof whatsoever to support his sensational allegations.”

The statement further accused the former SGF of political inconsistency, arguing that he appeared willing to accept the outcome of the same process in contests that favoured individuals close to him.

“Mr Lawal has also failed to explain how the very same primary process he now dismisses as fraudulent somehow produced a result he appears perfectly willing to accept in Adamawa State, where his cousin, Omar Suleiman, emerged as the ADC governorship candidate.”

“Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the process was only credible when it favoured his family and only rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support.”

Shaibu also revisited controversies that trailed Lawal’s tenure as Secretary to the Government of the Federation under former President Muhammadu Buhari, challenging what he described as the former SGF’s attempt to present himself as a moral authority on issues of corruption and electoral integrity.

Lawal was removed from office in 2017 following allegations linked to contracts awarded through the Presidential Initiative on the North-East, a controversy that became widely known as the “grass-cutting scandal.” He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Atiku argued that Lawal’s criticism of the ADC primary stemmed from disappointment over the outcome rather than genuine concerns about the integrity of the process.

“What appears to have truly unsettled Mr Lawal is not the conduct of the primaries but the outcome. Democracy guarantees participation, not victory. One cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred result and suddenly condemn it as rigged when it does not.”

The statement also faulted what it described as Lawal’s resort to ethnic and religious sentiments in his criticism of the primary election after failing to secure support for his preferred candidate.

“Having failed to persuade ADC members to embrace his preferred candidate, he now seeks refuge in the divisive politics of identity,” Atiku said.

According to the Atiku camp, such rhetoric offers no meaningful solutions to the challenges confronting the country.

“It creates no jobs, lowers no food prices, secures no communities, and offers no pathway out of the national crisis.”

Defending his political credentials, Atiku insisted that the 2027 presidential election would ultimately be decided by Nigerians based on issues of governance, economic recovery and national security rather than internal party disagreements.

“The Nigerian people know Atiku Abubakar. They know his record in public service. They know his achievements in business. They know his commitment to national unity and economic reform,” the statement stressed.

Atiku further stated that the former Vice President remains focused on presenting practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges and is not distracted by controversies arising from the party’s presidential primary.

It maintained that no amount of criticism or post-primary disputes would alter the outcome of the contest or undermine the mandate given to Atiku by ADC members across the country.

“The 2027 election will not be decided by tantrums, ethnic dog whistles, recycled grievances, or revisionist history. It will be decided by the Nigerian people. And no amount of post-primary bitterness can alter that reality,” Atiku stated.