The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi over the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary election, where former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the party’s candidate.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik struck out the case after Amaechi’s lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, informed the court that the former governor wanted to withdraw the suit.
The lawyer also told the court that the parties involved had reached an agreement to resolve their differences.
Amaechi had approached the court after rejecting the result of the ADC presidential primary held in May.
Atiku won the election with 1,846,370 votes, defeating Amaechi, who recorded 504,117 votes.
Former FSB International Bank Managing Director, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, finished third with 177,120 votes.
Before the final results were announced, Amaechi questioned the credibility of the primary election, alleging that some members were prevented from voting and claiming there were irregularities during the process.
The former governor later filed a suit against the party’s primary election outcome, arguing that the exercise did not follow the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, the ADC constitution, and the party’s guidelines for selecting candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amaechi asked the court to stop Atiku from presenting himself as the ADC presidential candidate and also requested that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not recognise him as the party’s candidate.
However, with the withdrawal of the case, the court brought the matter to an end.
In June, the ADC announced Amaechi as Atiku’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election, forming a joint ticket ahead of the polls.
