Babachir Bombs Atiku Again… Says ADC Presidential Candidate Backing APC Candidate in Adamawa

…Accuses Ex-VP of Pursuing Fulani Hegemony, Mocks Presidential Bid as ‘Cheap TEMU Product’

By Abu Adamu
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has launched another blistering attack on the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, accusing the former Vice President of deliberately sabotaging his own party’s governorship prospects in Adamawa State in order to hand victory to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a lengthy Facebook statement titled “Kachalla Series Three (Quos Deus Vult Perdere, Prius Dementat)”, Lawal alleged that Atiku orchestrated the replacement of the winner of the ADC governorship primary, Engr. Umar Suleiman, with another aspirant, Tukur Moddibo, in what he described as a politically motivated move driven by ethnic and religious considerations rather than merit.

According to the former SGF, the decision by the ADC leadership to upload Moddibo’s name as the party’s governorship candidate vindicated his long-held claim that Atiku consistently promotes Fulani Muslim politicians at the expense of other ethnic groups.

Lawal argued that the episode reinforced what he has repeatedly described as the danger of an Atiku presidency, alleging that it would entrench what he called “Fulani hegemony” across Nigeria.

He further alleged that the substitution was carefully designed to weaken the ADC’s electoral chances in Adamawa and indirectly pave the way for the APC governorship candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Tijjani Galadima, to emerge victorious in the 2027 election.

According to him, Suleiman enjoyed broad grassroots acceptance and posed a formidable challenge across the state, whereas Moddibo lacked the political strength to mount a credible contest.

Lawal claimed that influential Fulani political interests in Adamawa were uncomfortable with Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s restoration of chiefdoms and emirates to several indigenous ethnic nationalities, a move he said had reduced the dominance of the traditional Adamawa Emirate Council.

He alleged that replacing Suleiman formed part of a wider strategy to consolidate both political authority and traditional influence under a structure favourable to Fulani elites, warning that such an arrangement would further marginalise indigenous communities in the state.

The former SGF also took a swipe at Atiku’s presidential ambition, mocking the ADC standard bearer as a “cheap product” comparable to items bought from the online marketplace TEMU.

“As the story goes on the streets in the state, APC donated its gubernatorial candidate to the state having purchased him from TEMU, the cheap online marketplace, and it appears that the ADC too has just done likewise, aside from giving to the nation a presidential candidate that looks more like he too was a cheap product from TEMU,” Lawal wrote.

He maintained that the substitution of Suleiman with Moddibo violated the Electoral Act 2026, the ADC Constitution, and the party’s Primary Election Guidelines, insisting that the action amounted to a criminal breach of the law.

“This criminal substitution which violates the Electoral Act 2026, the ADC Constitution, and the ADC Primary Elections Guidelines will be tested in the courts and it will fail woefully,” he declared.

Lawal said the ADC leadership had abandoned internal democracy by overturning the outcome of a valid primary election under pressure from powerful interests.

He expressed confidence that the courts would nullify the substitution and restore the candidate who, according to him, legitimately won the primary.

In one of his strongest attacks yet on the former Vice President, Lawal accused Atiku of repeatedly placing personal ambition above the collective interests of his political party, insisting that the Adamawa controversy exposed what he described as the dangers of allowing him to lead Nigeria.

He urged Adamawa voters to reject both the ADC and APC governorship candidates, arguing that the state’s indigenous communities had credible alternatives in other political parties.

“The Adamawa masses trust God that both the ADC and APC will lose the gubernatorial elections in the state,” he said.

Lawal concluded by calling on the indigenous ethnic nationalities of Adamawa State to unite against what he described as attempts to impose ethnic and religious domination on the state’s political leadership.

Neither Atiku Abubakar nor the national leadership of the ADC had responded to Lawal’s allegations as of the time this report was filed.