African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain and veteran journalist, Dele Momodu, has defended the party’s ongoing presidential primary, insisting that the exercise was conducted fairly and calling on aggrieved aspirants to allow the process to be concluded before raising objections.
The internal election, which produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the leading candidate with victories across more than 20 states, has been challenged by contenders Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Muhammad Hayatu-Deen over alleged irregularities.
Speaking on Arise Television on Tuesday, May 27, Momodu said some contestants were quick to dismiss the process before it was fully concluded.
“What I find strange is the fact that before the conclusion of the election, two of the contestants did not wait before writing it off. Overnight, I looked through the states that have been already collated and declared, and I could see a fair pattern,” he said.
He appealed directly to the aggrieved aspirants to remain calm.
“I plead once again with Rotimi Amaechi and Muhammad Hayatu-Deen to please cool tempers and let the process be concluded before they raise concerns,” he urged.
Momodu stressed that unity within the party was more important than internal disagreements ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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“If they love the party and they love Nigeria, and they truly want to remove Tinubu, then this is not the time for this type of bickering. For me, it is very concerning,” he said.
Highlighting Atiku’s political experience, he described the former vice president as the most established figure in the race.
“I never doubted that he’s the biggest fish in the race. Atiku has been running since 1993, when he stepped down for Chief Moshood Abiola in Jos, and he has built this nationwide network that will be difficult for any newcomer to build,” he noted.
Rejecting allegations of manipulation, Momodu insisted the primaries were credible and transparent.
“I can’t speak for both of them. I don’t know what they saw. I personally monitored a lot of the states yesterday. I was monitoring that election throughout yesterday; I didn’t go anywhere. And we were getting feedback from the field, and I can tell you—it was well conducted, peacefully conducted,” he insisted.
He also criticised claims of inflated voting figures in other political parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“For anybody to say you are accredited and nearly 11 million people voted on a single day, and you counted it immediately? Even INEC could not have achieved that in one week,” he said.