Nicholas Msheliza, Chairman of the African Democratic Congress Adamawa Primary Electoral Committee, has alleged that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, was the one who attempted to rig the state’s ADC presidential primary. 

He made the allegations in a statement on Wednesday. 

This counter-allegation follows earlier claims by Lawal that former President Atiku Abubakar rigged himself to victory in last month’s ADC presidential primary. 

Recall that Atiku emerged as the presidential candidate of ADC; however, Lawal described the primary as flawed in his remark while resigning from the opposition party. 

Reacting, Msheliza said Lawal, in the past days, has been trying hard to justify actions against the party. 

“I have watched with amusement how hard he has been trying to justify his actions with phantom excuses of unfair presidential primaries and rigging in favour of Atiku Abubakar. 

“While I had initially chosen to be a spectator by the sidelines, I have now found it necessary to break my silence and offer some response in order to prevent gullible Nigerians from swallowing the venom of hatred and pack of lies being peddled by Babachir Lawal.

“With the esteemed office he occupied in the party, and as a pastor, which he sometimes claims to be, I never thought in my wildest imagination that Babachir Lawal could descend so low to the level of distorting facts to defend his inability and lack of capacity to deliver on what has turned out to be a scam he had sold to his principal.

“It is obvious that Babachir Lawal has little or no knowledge of the role of a returning officer. 

“For the sake of clarity, the local government Babachir Lawal mentioned in his interview is the Hong Local Government Area, the very local government he hails from.

“I wish to state for the record that Atiku Abubakar won that local government with 11,991 votes while Hayatu-Deen and Rotimi Amaechi polled 2,493 and 377 votes, respectively. 

“When Babachir Lawal got wind of the results, he called and requested that I reverse the results to favour his candidate. I refused to carry out his criminal directive. 

“Curiously, one hour after that call, he dissolved and constituted a so-called new electoral committee for the Hong Local Government Area from his office in Abuja without recourse to me as the Chairman of the Electoral Committee for Adamawa State. This was the Babachir Lawal committee that went on to illegally carry out his rigging assignment in Hong, Madagali, Michika, and Mubi North Local Government Areas without any ward electoral materials given to them. Please note that the original results from Hong had been entered before Babachir Lawal’s so-called new committee came up with the concocted results from Hong.

“I was extremely happy when Babachir Lawal mentioned that he had his results sheets to show as evidence of rigging. I challenge him to provide them for public scrutiny against the results sheets from the Adamawa State Electoral Committee.

“I wish to put Babachir Lawal on notice that in my next statement on this issue, I would be glad to present a plethora of unassailable evidence, including unethical interferences to show the rigging processes the self-styled pastor unleashed on Adamawa State and the scam scheme he presided over during the presidential primaries. All his plans to compromise the election were resisted.

“If Babachir Lawal has personal scores to settle with Atiku Abubakar, I advise him to choose another means but not to discredit a process in which he was a chief planner, but got angry and frustrated because he was stopped in his tracks.

“Instead of Babachir Lawal to hide his face in shame, he is now ranting like a rabid dog for his inability to justify the enormous resources entrusted to him with the results of the primaries so presented”, he stated.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi on Wednesday, affirmed the judgment of the Benue State High Court, which nullified the dissolution of the Augustine Agada-led State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, by the party’s National Working Committee, NWC.

In its ruling on Appeal No. CA/MKD/119/2024, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the APC against the earlier judgment delivered by Justice T. A. Kume of the Makurdi High Court.

Delivering the lead judgment on behalf of the Presiding Justice, the court held that all five issues raised by the appellant were resolved against the APC and in favour of Augustine Agada and eight others.

The appellate court also upheld the consequential order of the lower court, which declared that all actions taken by the Benjamin Omale-led Caretaker Committee were “null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”

Benjamin Omale, listed as the 10th respondent in the appeal, aligned with the arguments advanced by the APC but did not file any separate process before the court.

Reacting to the judgment, Agada expressed confidence in the judiciary’s ability to dispense justice and called on members of the party to remain calm and united.

The ruling effectively reinforces the legitimacy of the Agada-led APC State Executive Committee in Benue State while invalidating the caretaker committee earlier constituted by the party’s national leadership.

Nigerian cleric, Prophet Isa El-Buba, has explained why he switched support for Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, to the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, ahead of the 2027 general elections. 

According to him, Adebayo has a better vision for Nigerians than Obi. 

He disclosed this in a recent statement made available to DAILY POST on Wednesday. 

The cleric cautioned that Nigeria must not slide into a one-party state.

He raised concerns over the state of the nation, lamenting that despite Nigeria’s abundant natural and human resources, millions of citizens continue to grapple with insecurity, unemployment, poverty and social injustice.

According to him, successive leadership failures have continued to deprive citizens, especially young people, of opportunities for growth, quality education, and economic prosperity.

“Nigeria is blessed with abundant resources, intelligent people, and great potential, yet millions still suffer from insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and injustice,” he stated.

“Now is the time that we need to join forces together to rewrite history.” “Nigeria cannot continue to go through pain, frustration, and clueless leadership,” he said.

“Nigeria cannot go into a one-party state. Every system survives by justice and equity. “Oppression is never the pathway to stability, and peace cannot thrive in the midst of injustice,” he declared.