Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a 2027 presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has alleged that there are cases of malpractices in the ongoing presidential primaries of the party.
He said after participating in the exercise in Borno, he has received reports from parts of the country of certain malpractices in the ADC presidential primaries that are ugly and disturbing, speaking on Monday.
He added that some persons have been calling him and putting pressure on him to step down for another aspirant.
The Borno politician however said despite the complaints, the primary election was peaceful and satisfactory in his own ward.
He also urged the party leaders to tackle the challenges and malpractices to save the image of the ADC before 2027.
He said, “Today is a momentous day because the ADC presidental primaries are still ongoing. I’m coming from my ward, where it’s peaceful, and the people have told me that they will vote massively for my candidature.
“However, I want to draw the country’s attention to some ugly and disturbing malpractices. “Firstly, I have received a number of phone calls from people asking me to step down for a particular candidate, saying that my candidature is going to create problems for the party.
“This has to be a free, fair and transparent election. Any one, able to contest any office, has the right to offer himself for service. I have taken the presidential screening exercise. The ADC has released a press statement to the effect that Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi have been cleared to contest the primaries.
“It is inconceivable that anybody would be so audacious as to call me to resign for a particular candidate. This morning and this afternoon in Kaduna State, as party faithful gathered, they were told a consensus has been reached and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen has stepped down.
“Even as at 5pm, the election has not taken place in Zaria where I have a lot of supporters. People were denied rights. This act is a crime and a fraud. We are not going to tolerate this criminality and we are going to fight it to the end.”
Hayatudeen also said that the people of Southern Borno gathered in large numbers and voted peacefully in the morning.
However, he said, the electoral officers who were supposed to collate the results did not fill in the result sheets and instead walked away to a secluded area to fill in the result sheets in the absence of the voters.
But he vowed to fight to the last.
