By Ayomide Otitoju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu has secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election after a landslide victory in the party’s nationwide direct primary held on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
The exercise, conducted across 8,809 wards in all 774 local government areas, produced a decisive win for the incumbent president, who emerged as the party’s flagbearer following the collation of results on Sunday.
Tinubu’s only challenger in the race, APC chieftain and businessman Stanley Osifo from Edo State, participated in the contest but was overwhelmingly defeated.
Announcing the results at the collation centre in Abuja, Chairman of the APC Presidential Primaries Committee, Pius Anyim, said a total of 11,015,665 accredited voters participated in the exercise, with 10,999,162 votes going to Tinubu and 16,503 votes to Osifo.
He subsequently declared Tinubu winner of the primary, saying the president had met all constitutional requirements and secured the highest number of votes.
Following the announcement, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda presented the party’s flag and certificate of return to Tinubu, formally confirming him as the party’s presidential candidate for 2027.
In his acceptance remarks, Bola Ahmed Tinubu thanked party members for their support and described the outcome as a strong endorsement of his leadership and the party’s direction ahead of the general election.
