TheTimes had earlier reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged as the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 election.
This came after securing a sweeping victory at the party’s primary election held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja on Saturday.
Tinubu polled 10,999,162 votes to overwhelmingly defeat his sole challenger, Mr. Stanley Osifu, who garnered 16,503 votes in the nationwide exercise.
The result was declared by Chairman of the APC Presidential Primary Election Committee, Senator Pius Anyim, who served as the returning officer for the election.
The results showed that Mr Osifo failed to secure a single vote in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Delta, Kogi, Ebonyi, Kwara, Borno, Kebbi, Enugu, Kaduna, Ondo, Yobe, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Ogun, Sokoto, Taraba, Cross River, Gombe, Oyo and Osun states.
In the FCT, where former senator Philip Aduda served as collation officer, all 36,103 votes cast went to Mr Tinubu, while Mr Osifo scored zero.
Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, who presented the state’s result, announced that all 197,370 votes cast in the state went to the president, with none for his challenger.
Similarly, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori declared that all 407,646 votes cast in the state were won by President Tinubu.
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru announced that the president secured all 207,579 votes cast in the state, while Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi reported that all 206,520 votes cast in the state’s APC wards also went to the incumbent.
In several other states, the margin remained overwhelmingly in President Tinubu’s favour.
In Anambra State, Tinubu polled 43,034 votes against Mr Osifo’s 383 votes, while in Abia State, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presented the result, announced that Mr Osifo scored 1,007 votes out of the 162,012 total votes cast, with the remainder going to the president.
Kano State recorded one of the highest figures for Mr Osifo, who secured 2,675 votes against Mr Tinubu’s 503,527 votes. In Niger State, the Edo-born businessman polled 5,248 votes, his highest tally nationwide, while Tinubu secured 175,487 votes.
In Lagos State, the president’s political stronghold, Tinubu polled 814,988 votes, while Osifo received 1,186 votes.
Kaduna delivered 618,914 votes to the incumbent without a single vote for his challenger, while Adamawa returned 644,149 votes for Tinubu against Osifo’s 195 votes.
Borno State delivered all 414,988 votes cast to Tinubu, while Enugu State returned all 383,382 accredited votes to the incumbent.
Plateau State returned 241,720 votes for Tinubu and 303 votes for Osifo, while Nasarawa produced 285,436 votes for the president against 768 votes for his challenger.
In Kwara State, Tinubu polled 310,990 votes while Osifo secured none. Edo recorded 121,098 votes for the president and just one vote for Osifo. Kebbi returned 292,972 votes for Tinubu with zero for his challenger, while Bauchi recorded 156,541 votes for the president and 2,650 for Osifo.
Ondo delivered 181,996 votes to Tinubu and none to Osifo, while Yobe returned 253,804 votes exclusively for the president.
Rivers State recorded 280,082 votes for Tinubu and zero for the businessman, while Akwa Ibom gave the incumbent 389,197 votes without any vote for his opponent.
Benue State delivered 374,787 votes for Tinubu and 779 votes for Osifo, while Imo returned 582,960 votes for the president and 103 votes for his challenger. Ekiti also gave Tinubu all 85,340 votes cast.
Zamfara recorded 321,579 votes for the incumbent and 42 for Osifo, while Ogun State returned 322,485 votes solely for the president. Sokoto gave Tinubu all 301,000 votes cast, while Taraba returned 183,698 votes exclusively for him.
Cross River State produced 113,911 votes for Tinubu with none for Osifo, while Gombe delivered 450,517 votes entirely to the president.
In Oyo State, Tinubu polled 142,754 votes while Osifo secured 929 votes. Osun State delivered all 100,880 votes cast to the president, while Bayelsa returned 277,192 votes for him and five votes for Osifo.
Osifo had emerged as the only challenger to the president after purchasing the APC’s N100 million presidential nomination form.
The businessman had vowed to challenge the incumbent for the party’s ticket after reported moves to adopt a consensus arrangement failed to materialise.
The outcome of the primary further consolidates President Tinubu’s grip on the ruling party ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the president now set to fly the APC flag for a second-term bid.
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