ADC Presidential Primary: “You’re Jumping the Gun”

ADC Presidential Primary: “You’re Jumping the Gun” — David Mark’s Aide Tells Amaechi

A member of the African Democratic Congress electoral panel and aide to National Chairman David Mark, Chille Igbawua, has urged aggrieved aspirants including Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen to channel their grievances through the party’s internal appeal process rather than rejecting the presidential primary outcome outright.

Chille Igbawua, a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) electoral panel and adviser to the party’s National Chairman, David Mark, has advised aggrieved aspirants in the party’s presidential primary to follow due process instead of publicly dismissing the results.

Speaking in an interview, Igbawua said candidates dissatisfied with the outcome of the exercise should approach the party’s appeal panel, stressing that internal mechanisms exist to handle disputes arising from the primaries.

“Anybody who is aggrieved by the primary process should go to the appeal and state their reasons. Saying you don’t agree with the process is jumping the gun,” he said.

His remarks come after former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi rejected the outcome of the ADC presidential primary, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and irregularities during the exercise.

Amaechi claimed that a large percentage of party members across the country were denied the opportunity to vote, describing the process as unfair and unacceptable.

Another aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also distanced himself from the outcome, reportedly boycotting the results announcement over similar allegations of irregularities.

However, Igbawua insisted that the party has structured internal dispute resolution mechanisms designed to address such complaints.

He explained that appeal panels were available at different stages of the process, including screening and primaries, allowing candidates to challenge decisions formally.

According to him, “These are the internal mechanisms that are put in place for grievance resolution… Anybody who is aggrieved by the primary process, you go to the appeal, state your reasons.”

He further maintained that while human errors may occur in political processes, the appeal system exists to correct such issues and ensure fairness within the party.

Igbawua added that nearly all candidates cleared by the appeal panels participated in the governorship primaries, underscoring what he described as the credibility of the process.