Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has criticised the African Democratic Congress's presidential primary, which designated ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party's candidate for the 2027 elections.

Lawal described the election as heavily rigged to favour Atiku, claiming that the results were manipulated to benefit him and his supporters.

In a statement on Monday, he announced his departure from the ADC, stating he refuses to be part of what he describes as Atiku's rigging machinery for the 2027 polls.

"The man and his cabal are just irredentist Fulani and religious hegemonists. For me, working for Kachalla Atiku means giving Tinubu an automatic ticket to a second term, which gives me nightmares. I believe Tinubu might, comparatively speaking,  end up a better Nigerian president than Kachalla Atiku could ever be (as bad as Tinubu  currently is  and possibly could ever be). The choice in 2027, it seems, will be a Morton’s fork," the former SGF said.

Lawal stated that he did not join the ADC to worsen Nigeria’s situation, as his beliefs and conscience prevent him from partnering with the evil that Atiku and his supporters embody.

"For, with close to 25 adult children, six wives (past and present, some offshore) and a heavily shrunk decapitated business empire, I foresee 25 Seyi Tinubus and six Remi Tinubus; a prospect that has been keeping me awake all night with worry. And who knows which Chagouri’s might be lurking around the corner waiting for an Atiku bazaar?

"I would have thought that the Northerners who helped rig the primaries for a near-senile octogenarian they all know to be an incompetent, tribal and religious bigot would be the ones who should crave the most a good post-2027  governance, seeing as Tinubu has driven their people to total destitution. I would have thought that when Northerners insist on a northern president, they would be thinking of one who will stop the downward spiral into poverty and insecurity, not an ineptocrat like Kachalla Atiku.  Alas, a leopard cannot change its spots. The North, it seems, is perpetually doomed to self-harm," he said.

Lawal accused Atiku of surrounding himself with vote riggers and result manipulators but believes they will be defeated by the supposedly superior rigging machine operated by President Bola Tinubu.

"While I will be tweaking my plans for the future and consulting with like-minded colleagues on how to stop this incompetent octogenerian from coming close to the presidential office, I will, in the meantime, retire to my village farm from where I will be watching Kachalla Atiku and his band of wicked vote riggers and result manipulators mercilessly out-rigged and beaten to pulp by Tinubu’s ruthless and superior rigging machine. Then, it will be bye-bye to this octogenarian presidential wannabe. It will be bye-bye to the North for preferring a religious hegemonist over a competent world-renowned economist and corporate guru," he said.