Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has given more clarification on why he resigned from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Lawal said he could not support what he described as a manipulated primary process allegedly carried out in favour of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Lawal stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, shortly after announcing his resignation from the party in a Facebook post.
According to him, concerns had long existed within the party that the ADC was being positioned to serve Atiku’s presidential ambition despite assurances that the party would conduct free and fair primaries.
Lawal said efforts by the party leadership to secure a consensus candidate failed because the major contenders insisted on emerging as the sole beneficiary of any consensus arrangement, leaving the party with no option but to conduct primaries.
He alleged that the exercise was compromised by supporters of Atiku, claiming that results were altered in several places and that outcomes were manipulated to favour the former vice president’s camp.
The former SGF further alleged that party members were aware of the irregularities but appeared willing to accept the outcome in the interest of peace.
Lawal said he found such a response unacceptable, arguing that reconciliation would be difficult where party members believed the process had been deliberately manipulated.
He also questioned Atiku’s suitability for the presidency, saying his knowledge of the former vice president’s political record and capabilities had convinced him that an Atiku administration would perform worse than the current government of President Bola Tinubu.
According to Lawal, he did not want to find himself in a position where he would regret opposing Tinubu’s re-election.
He said: “Surprisingly, all over the place, Atiku and his people compromised almost everybody, and the results were doctored. Where there was primaries at all, they changed. Where the result didn’t favour them, they wrote what they wanted and declared the result.
“Everybody in ADC knows that that primaries was manipulated, rigged massively. The result was doctored and everybody who participated knew it.
“Now, worry was that everybody in ADC was behaving as if it’s a normal thing to do. I was shocked at this behavior because everybody was calling for peace.
“How can you reconcile with the group?
How can you reconcile with somebody who deliberately manipulated ever other person out? On what basis? You know you cannot reconcile the good and the bad because the result will be bad.
“I know Atiku. I’ve said his antecedent. I have known his capabilities, and I realized that his presidency will be worse than Bola Tinubu.
“I don’t want to enter a situation in which I will regret wishing that I had not worked against Bola Tinubu. I don’t want a situation like that.”
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