Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has announced his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alleging widespread irregularities in the party’s recently concluded primaries and launching a blistering attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In a strongly worded statement titled “The Kachalla Series Part 1,” Lawal accused the party leadership of conducting what he described as a heavily manipulated primary process designed to favour Atiku, whom he repeatedly referred to as “Kachalla Atiku.”
According to Lawal, the primaries were marred by alleged rigging at multiple levels, with results purportedly altered to benefit candidates loyal to the former vice president.
“I am exiting the ADC because its just concluded primaries were at all levels massively rigged in favour of Kachalla Abubakar Atiku,” Lawal said.
The former SGF claimed there was a “conspiracy of silence” within the party regarding the conduct of the exercise and expressed disappointment that many members appeared willing to accept the outcome.
“Results were just written or rewritten to favour him and his coven. Even where they allowed some semblance of election to hold, the winners were simply replaced with members of his syndicate. In the real sense it was a disgraceful charade,” he stated.
Lawal said his decision to leave the party was informed by what he described as a refusal to be associated with any alleged electoral manipulation ahead of the 2027 general election.
“I am doing so because I do not intend to be part of Kachalla Atiku’s rigging machine in the 2027 general elections and I cannot avoid doing so if I remain in the party,” he said.
The former presidential adviser also accused Atiku and his associates of pursuing what he described as ethnic and religious domination, alleging that such tendencies would be detrimental to Nigeria’s future if allowed to shape national leadership.
In one of the most controversial sections of his statement, Lawal suggested that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, despite his criticisms of the current administration, could ultimately perform better as president than Atiku.
“I believe Tinubu might, comparatively speaking, end up a better Nigerian president than Kachalla Atiku could ever be,” he wrote.
Lawal argued that the prospect of an Atiku presidency raised concerns for him about governance, succession politics and the management of public resources. He also criticised what he described as the former vice president’s political and business record.
The ex-SGF further expressed disappointment with northern political actors whom he accused of backing Atiku’s emergence despite the region’s economic and security challenges.
“I would have thought that when Northerners insist on a northern president they would be thinking of one that will stop the downward spiral into poverty and insecurity, not an ineptocrat like Kachalla Atiku,” he said.
Continuing his criticism, Lawal described Atiku as an “incompetent octogenarian” and alleged that the ADC primary process reflected a broader failure of leadership within the party.
He also predicted that the opposition coalition would struggle against the political machinery of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu in the 2027 election cycle.
“While I will be tweaking my plans for the future and consulting with like-minded colleagues on how to stop this incompetent octogenarian from coming close to the presidential office, I will in the meantime retire to my village farm from where I will be watching Kachalla Atiku and his band of wicked vote riggers and result manipulators mercilessly out-rigged and beaten to pulp by Tinubu’s ruthless and superior rigging machine,” Lawal stated.
The former SGF’s resignation adds a fresh layer of controversy to the opposition political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election, with tensions already rising over party alignments, candidate selection processes and coalition-building efforts.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Atiku Abubakar nor the ADC leadership had publicly responded to Lawal’s allegations regarding the conduct of the primaries or his criticisms of the party’s internal processes.
The development is expected to intensify debate within opposition circles, particularly as parties continue to position themselves for what is anticipated to be a fiercely contested presidential race in 2027.
