The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidates who contested the June 13, 2026, local government elections in Adamawa State have rejected the outcome, describing the exercise as flawed and calling for a complete rerun.
The candidates, who participated in the chairmanship and councillorship races, accused the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission (ADSIEC) of conducting what they termed an unfair and non-credible election.
The disputed poll produced chairmen-elect across the state’s 21 local government areas and councillors-elect in 226 wards, all reportedly won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Addressing journalists in Yola, the ADC candidates insisted that no genuine election took place across the state, arguing that the declared results did not reflect the will of the electorate.
Speaking on behalf of the group, one of the candidates, Abubakar Ahmadu, dismissed the entire process as illegitimate and demanded accountability from the electoral body.
“We wish to state emphatically that elections did not hold in all the local government councils across the state on June 13, 2026. We therefore wonder how results were concocted and how winners emerged,” he said.
Ahmadu further described the exercise as a serious setback for democratic governance, alleging that the process was manipulated from the outset.
“The purported conduct of the Adamawa council poll represents the height of electoral banditry,” he added.
The candidates urged civil society organisations, democracy watchdogs, and constitutional rights groups to intervene, insisting that the integrity of local government elections must be protected.
They also declared that they do not recognise the announced winners and called on ADSIEC to cancel the results and organise a fresh election.
According to them, only a new, transparent, and inclusive process can restore public confidence in the electoral system in Adamawa State.
The rejection adds to growing political tensions surrounding local government elections in several states, where opposition parties have repeatedly challenged outcomes over alleged irregularities and lack of transparency.ac
