- Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has established a comfortable lead over his main rivals, Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) collates results from its nationwide presidential primary.
- Atiku secured decisive victories in Zamfara and Yobe states, pulling a staggering 60,500 votes in Zamfara against Amaechi’s 191 and Hayatu-Deen’s 446, while dominating early trends across several geopolitical zones.
- The David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC) has officially rejected the parallel candidacy of Dumebi Kachikwu, declaring that the primary supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remains the only legally binding platform.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was ahead of his rivals, Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen , as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) began the collation of results for the presidential primary last night.
Tracking the early ballot returns on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Eko Hot Blog reports that the electoral officials confirmed that the former vice president was declared the outright winner in Yobe and Zamfara states, while holding comfortable leads in Adamawa, Sokoto, Kaduna, Edo, Enugu, and Nasarawa as ward-level counts continue to trickles into the national collation headquarters.
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Announcing the baseline figures at the Zamfara State Collation Center within the Command Guests House in Gusau, the Presidential Primary Election Committee Chairman, Muhammad Musa, reported that the internal ballot was smoothly executed across 147 administrative wards in all 14 local government areas of the state.
Musa disclosed that out of 63,404 registered party faithful, 61,137 cast their ballots, with Atiku amassing 60,500 votes, while Hayatu-Deen and Amaechi trailed far behind with 446 and 191 votes respectively.
A mirror landslide was recorded in Yobe State, where the State Primary Election Returning Officer, Hajiya Ma’am Kyari, declared that Atiku polled 44,841 votes to beat his challengers in a peaceful exercise across 178 political wards.
Casting his vote at the Ajiya Ward Polling Unit in the Jimeta metropolitan district of Yola, Atiku described the parallel nationwide voting exercise across 8,809 wards as democracy at work.
He maintained that the overwhelming grassroots turnout serves as a major step toward recovering the country and steering it onto the path of economic prosperity.
Downplaying the highly publicized administrative friction at the national headquarters, the frontline aspirant noted that internal disagreements are natural to evolving political parties and will not weaken the collective focus of the ADC ahead of the general elections.
Rotimi Amaechi, who monitored the processes from his home base in Ubima, Rivers State, similarly lauded the transparency of the local ward layout, urging party delegates to consistently prioritize structural merit and long-term competence.
The sweeping momentum came amidst a firm administrative clearance by the party’s recognized leadership structure in Abuja.
The David Mark-led executive panel openly rejected the candidacy of Dumebi Kachikwu, who emerged unopposed during a parallel national convention organized by an unbacked faction over the weekend.
Speaking on behalf of the party, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, clarified that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is actively monitoring and validating only the primary processes managed by the recognized leadership framework across the federation.
He maintained that the sudden Abuja gathering failed to meet the mandatory constitutional criteria, reinforcing that the party remains united and legally insulated under the legitimate NWC.
