{"id":308,"date":"2026-05-26T14:46:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sparkmedia.africa\/?p=308"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:46:53","slug":"atiku-leads-adc-presidential-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sparkmedia.africa\/?p=308","title":{"rendered":"Atiku Leads ADC Presidential Primary in Early Results Across Five States"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former Vice President <strong>Atiku Abubakar<\/strong> has taken an early lead in the ongoing <strong>African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary<\/strong>, securing victories in five states as delegates continue voting to determine the party\u2019s candidate for the <strong>2027 presidential election<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The high-stakes primary election has attracted nationwide attention as political realignments begin ahead of the next general elections. Atiku is contesting alongside former Minister of Transportation <strong>Rotimi Amaechi<\/strong> and respected economist <strong>Mohammed Hayatu-Deen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the ADC national leadership is yet to officially release the final collated results from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, early figures from several states indicate that Atiku is maintaining a strong lead over his opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.punchng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/14162050\/Atiku-ADC-1536x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Atiku Wins Five States in Early Counting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to results announced across some states, the former vice president has already recorded victories in <strong>Gombe, Abia, Ebonyi, Sokoto, and Zamfara States<\/strong>, boosting speculation that he may emerge as the ADC presidential flagbearer if the current trend continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gombe State Results<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Gombe State, results announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. David Agbu, showed that Atiku secured an overwhelming <strong>139,334 votes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rotimi Amaechi \u2014 1,150 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mohammed Hayatu-Deen \u2014 464 votes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result marked one of Atiku\u2019s strongest performances in the early stages of the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abia State Results<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Atiku also emerged victorious in Abia State, polling <strong>25,153 votes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rotimi Amaechi \u2014 18,339 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mohammed Hayatu-Deen \u2014 3,264 votes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Abia result showed a closer contest between Atiku and Amaechi compared to other states announced so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ebonyi State Results<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Ebonyi State, Atiku continued his dominance with another convincing win. Results announced by the ADC National Vice Chairman (Diaspora), Fred Onwe, showed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Atiku Abubakar \u2014 15,300 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rotimi Amaechi \u2014 2,200 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mohammed Hayatu-Deen \u2014 200 votes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sokoto and Zamfara Results<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former vice president also secured major victories in Sokoto and Zamfara States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Sokoto:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Atiku \u2014 68,823 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amaechi \u2014 292 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hayatu-Deen \u2014 319 votes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Zamfara:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Atiku \u2014 60,500 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hayatu-Deen \u2014 436 votes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amaechi \u2014 191 votes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The results further strengthened Atiku\u2019s early dominance in the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ADC Primary Gains National Attention<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ongoing ADC primary is being closely watched by political observers, especially as opposition parties continue strategic discussions and coalition talks ahead of 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Atiku, who previously contested the presidency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in both the <strong>2019 and 2023 elections<\/strong>, remains one of Nigeria\u2019s most influential opposition politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Rotimi Amaechi entered the race with promises of institutional reforms, improved governance, and stronger internal party democracy. Economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen focused his campaign on economic restructuring and private sector-led development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political analysts believe the outcome of the ADC primary could significantly influence future opposition alliances against the ruling <strong>All Progressives Congress (APC)<\/strong> in the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Party officials are expected to announce the complete results later today after final collation from the remaining states and the Federal Capital Territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar leads the ADC presidential primary after securing early victories in Gombe, Abia, Ebonyi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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