President Bola Tinubu has secured an overwhelming victory in the All Progressives Congress presidential primary, effortlessly defeating his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo. The exercise, which took place across 8,809 wards nationwide, essentially served as an affirmation of his candidacy as party structures, governors, and grassroots delegates delivered massive endorsements for his second term bid. While the various organs of the ruling party had previously endorsed the President, the direct primary was conducted to formally ratify his candidacy for the 2027 general elections.
After casting his vote at his polling unit in Ikoyi, Lagos, President Tinubu praised the process as a true demonstration of internal democracy and grassroots politics. He expressed satisfaction with the peaceful and well organised conduct of party members across the country. The National Secretary of the party, Ajibola Basiru, corroborated this, noting that the voting process was peaceful and that results collated from the 774 local governments and 36 states pointed to a massive victory.
Reports from various states reflected a one sided contest. In Kaduna, Kebbi, and Plateau, thousands of party members turned out to unanimously affirm their support for the President. In Bayelsa, Tinubu garnered 277,192 votes against Osifo’s five votes, while in Edo, he secured 131,096 votes compared to a single vote for his challenger. Similar landslide results were recorded in Osun, Rivers, and Gombe, where Osifo scored zero votes. Party chieftains across these states commended the impressive turnout and the transparent nature of the electoral process.
Meanwhile, as the ruling party unites behind its candidate, the opposition African Democratic Congress is struggling with internal divisions ahead of its own presidential primary. The party leadership had initially preferred a consensus arrangement to save time and reduce friction among top contenders, including Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen. However, with aspirants like Amaechi publicly rejecting any consensus deal and insisting on a democratic contest, the chairman of the party's policy committee, John Oyegun, confirmed that the party would proceed with a direct primary if no agreement is reached.
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