By Chinelo Obogo Two of the three presidential aspirants on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have faulted the conduct of the party primary. Former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, rejected the results of the presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement across the country during the exercise. Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, also said he will not be attending the announcement of the winner of the primary, alleging widespread rigging. On his X handle, he said: “I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.” Amaechi, in a statement he posted on his X handle, declared the announced results “concocted,” saying approximately 80 percent of party members were prevented from casting their votes. The former governor said he had made clear from the outset that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, conditions he says were not met. Amaechi said it was hypocrisy that a party which built its identity on challenging the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over electoral malpractice is replicating the same conduct internally. He said the ADC’s mission is to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and offer an alternative to what he called the “impunity and gross mismanagement” of the current administration but that the conduct of the primaries undermined that very purpose. He said: “Following reports of widespread voter disenfranchisement in most parts of the country during the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Primaries yesterday, I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced. “I had initially stated that I will only accept the outcome of the Primaries if the process was free, fair, and transparent, and I stand by my word. I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party. “There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results. Then what makes us different from the others? The whole idea of the ADC was to give the Nigerian people a platform, to amplify the voices of the downtrodden, and make Nigeria a better place for everyone irrespective of backgrounds, ethnicity, or religion. “A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” Another aspirant on the ADC platform, The ADC is yet to comment on the allegations.