Babachir Lawal
Babachir, Atiku’s camp trade words of alleged primary rigging
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), accusing the party of manipulating its recently concluded primaries to favour former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his associates.
In a statement issued on Monday, Lawal described the exercise as “massively rigged,” claiming the process was skewed to ensure the emergence of Atiku and his allies.
However, the Media Office of the former vice president swiftly dismissed the allegations, describing them as baseless and driven by Lawal’s disappointment over the outcome of the exercise.
In a strongly worded rebuttal also issued on Monday, Atiku’s camp said Lawal’s criticism amounted to an attack on a democratic process that involved thousands of party members across the country, insisting that the ADC presidential primary was conducted transparently and produced a clear outcome.
“Ordinarily, Mr. Lawal’s latest excursion into political fiction would not merit a response. However, having chosen to malign a democratic process, insult thousands of ADC members nationwide, and make grave allegations without presenting a shred of evidence, it has become necessary to set the record straight,” the statement read.
Atiku’s camp further turned the spotlight on Lawal’s own record, pointing to the grass-cutting contract scandal that led to his removal from office as SGF. “It is perhaps the greatest irony of this entire episode that Mr. Babachir Lawal now seeks to reinvent himself as Nigeria’s newest apostle of integrity, transparency, and democratic virtue. Nigerians may forgive many things, but they seldom forget history. Mr. Lawal is not remembered for any celebrated crusade for accountability. Rather, he remains one of the most prominent public officials ever removed from office under the cloud of the infamous grass-cutting contract scandal,” the statement added.
The media office also questioned what it described as contradictions in Lawal’s position, noting that while he condemned alleged electoral malpractice in the ADC primary, he had at the same time spoken admiringly of what he termed President Tinubu’s “superior rigging machine.” The statement further accused Lawal of selectively rejecting the outcome, pointing out that he had not challenged the emergence of his cousin, Omar Suleiman, as the ADC governorship candidate in Adamawa State.
“If the ADC primaries were truly the sham Mr. Lawal now portrays them to be, intellectual honesty would require him to reject every outcome arising from that exercise, including the emergence of his cousin,” the statement added.
In a sarcastic conclusion, Atiku’s camp wished Lawal well in what it described as his decision to return to his village farm. “Given his enduring association with the grass-cutting scandal that defined his exit from public office, the farm may indeed be a fitting destination,” the statement said.
The media office insisted that Atiku remained focused on addressing Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, while dismissing Lawal’s criticisms as the reaction of a politician struggling to come to terms with an unfavourable political outcome. It added that the 2027 presidential election would ultimately be decided by Nigerians and not by what it described as post-primary grievances, conspiracy theories or personal attacks.
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