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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with former military president Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at his hilltop residence in Minna, the Niger State capital.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Atiku said he travelled to Niger State to strengthen the structures of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that the visit had no connection with any plans to contest the 2027 presidential election.
He said his engagement focused on growing public demand for real-time electronic transmission of election results, which he described as essential to reducing confusion and disputes during elections.
“At this point, this is not about me contesting elections. It is about Nigerians who want electronic transmission of election results,” Atiku said.
He argued that electronic transmission would improve transparency and noted that the controversial amendment to the Electoral Act deliberately combined electronic and manual processes, creating uncertainty in the system.
“The preference of Nigerians is clear. They want real-time electronic transmission of results. What we have now is a mixture of electronic and manual uploading, which only causes confusion and chaos,” he stated.
Atiku urged opposition political parties to unite in rejecting the Senate’s decision to rely solely on manual transmission of election results.
“We need all opposition political parties to pursue this issue. We should not allow it to rest the way they want it to rest at the Senate,” he said.
He also disclosed that the ADC is currently focused on grassroots mobilisation and strengthening its structures nationwide.
“I am a member of the ADC, and we are working to ensure our structures are firmly rooted from the ward level to local government, state, and national levels. We are mobilising and registering members across the country,” Atiku added.
Atiku did not state the specific purpose of his visit to Babangida, but noted that he had visited the former leader on several prior occasions.
Governor Makinde declined to speak to journalists. Reports said he remained inside Babangida’s residence after Atiku left, with aides explaining that he was on a private visit and would not grant interviews.
Journalists were later asked to leave the premises, although some stayed outside to watch his departure.
Atiku arrived in Minna at about 1:30 pm and went straight from the airport to Babangida’s home. Governor Makinde arrived later, around 2:10 pm, roughly 30 minutes after Atiku had departed.
ADC leaders and stakeholders who accompanied Atiku included Senators Ben Obi and Ozemina from Edo State, Niger State ADC chairman Musa Hassan, former Osun State governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Rivers State ADC governorship candidate Baba Agaie, and other party officials.
