The campaign team of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has mounted a strong rebuttal against Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, demanding concrete evidence to back his claims of rigging during the party’s primaries.
In a fiery response, Atiku’s camp dismissed Lawal’s accusations as baseless and malicious, accusing him of trying to tarnish the party’s image after failing to influence the primary process. Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, issued a statement on Tuesday calling Lawal’s allegations unfounded.
Lawal had earlier announced his resignation from the ADC on Monday, alleging that Atiku masterminded manipulations in the party’s ward-level primaries across the country. However, Shaibu countered that Lawal has not provided any documentation, witnesses, or verifiable evidence to substantiate his sensational claims.
“The ADC presidential primaries were conducted transparently across thousands of wards, and the outcome was clear and decisive,” Shaibu asserted. “Lawal has offered Nigerians no documents, no facts, no witnesses—nothing but empty rhetoric. We challenge him to produce any shred of proof.”
The statement further criticized Lawal for insulting the integrity of ADC members nationwide and attempting to discredit a democratic process he could not control. Atiku’s camp reaffirmed that the primary reflected the will of party faithful and rejected any suggestion of irregularity.