Tinubu Floors Sole Challenger in APC 2027 Primary Landslide
By: Abudu Olalekan
You know how some party primaries are just formalities? This one wasn’t even close.
President Bola Tinubu didn’t just win the APC’s 2027 presidential primary. He wiped the floor with his only challenger, Stanley Osifo. Party structures across every single state and ward fell in line behind his second-term bid. Reportersroom observed the whole exercise. It was less of a contest, more of a giant, unplanned affirmation.
The primary ran across 8,809 wards nationwide. Osifo barely registered. Negligible support, honestly. Single-digit votes in most spots, if that.
Sure, the APC’s top organs—the NEC, NWC, Progressive Governors Forum, state party chapters—all endorsed Tinubu months back. They still ran the formal direct primary anyway. Just to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, I guess.
Meanwhile the opposition ADC? Still eating itself alive. They tried for a consensus candidate first. Fell apart immediately. Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen all want the ticket. None of them wanna budge. Their primary’s supposed to be tomorrow. Gonna be messy, mark my words.
Tinubu cast his vote at his Ikoyi polling unit Saturday, flanked by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, he called the whole thing a win for internal democracy. “This is internal democracy in action, plain and simple. This is grassroots politics—every party member gets a say, gets to show up and have their vote count. We did this to make sure the process is fair, peaceful, no messing around.”
Party National Secretary Ajibola Basiru agreed. Said the whole exercise was peaceful. “Party members went out to vote for who they wanted,” he told Reportersroom. “We’ve collated results from all 774 wards, 36 states and the FCT. Some state collation’s still wrapping up as we speak. Results get presented tomorrow at the ICC. From what I’ve seen so far? It’s a landslide for Tinubu. But we’ll wait for the official numbers, obviously.”
The state results were so lopsided it’s almost funny:
Kaduna: All 255 wards across 23 LGAs unanimously backed Tinubu. Huge crowds turned out, zero drama. INEC officials monitored to keep things straight. Governor Uba Sani, who checked on parts of the process, called it peaceful, orderly, transparent. No surprises there.
Kebbi: Tinubu got all 5,652 votes cast in Governor Nasir Idris’s own Nassarawa II Ward in Birnin Kebbi. State APC chairman Abubakar Kana-Zuru announced the numbers, called it a clear landslide. Voters were orderly, no issues.
Bayelsa: Tinubu pulled 277,192 total votes. Osifo got five. Just five. Governor Douye Diri, the state collation officer, certified the results as accurate after double-checking every LGA’s numbers. Brass gave Tinubu 39,454 votes, Ekeremor 45,949, Kolokuma/Opokuma 22,593, Nembe 32,487, Ogbia 24,896, Sagbama 46,283, Southern Ijaw 74,136, Yenagoa 30,834. All five of Osifo’s votes came from Yenagoa, by the way. Diri said the process followed party rules to the letter, no hiccups.
Abia: Former governor Orji Kalu led over 4,000 APC members to vote in his Igbere Ward A, said the turnout proved Tinubu has real grassroots support. Over in Bende, the Deputy Speaker’s hometown, more than 13,000 party members lined up to vote for Tinubu. Osifo got zero. Not a single vote.
Plateau: Thousands of members queued up early at voting spots across the state. At the Jos North LGA collation venue, people were lined up around the block with their voting slips. Same story across Central and Southern zones. LGA chairman J.K. Chris said the turnout showed everyone’s united behind Tinubu.
Oyo: All 351 wards across 33 LGAs saw massive turnout, no violence, no intimidation, no harassment. State coordinator Teslim Folarin praised members for showing up. Sharafadeen Alli, the party’s governorship candidate, voted in Ward 3, Ibadan North, called the process peaceful, transparent, credible.
Edo: Governor Monday Okpebholo, the state returning officer, announced Tinubu got 131,096 votes. Osifo got one. Just one. Results from all 18 LGAs were collated at the APC secretariat in Ikpoba Hill, GRA.
Osun: Tinubu pulled 100,880 votes across 332 wards. Osifo got zero. Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, the state collation officer, declared the exercise peaceful when he announced the results in Osogbo.
Rivers: Another full sweep. Tinubu got all 280,082 valid votes cast. Governor Siminalayi Fubara certified the results after painstakingly checking the numbers himself, said the process was peaceful and transparent across all 23 LGAs. Osifo got nothing.
Gombe: Tinubu secured 450,517 votes. Zero for Osifo. Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, the state collation officer, said it’s clear the state’s fully behind Tinubu and the APC for 2027.
Now back to the ADC’s chaos. John Oyegun, who heads the party’s 50-member policy and manifesto committee, said they’d rather do a consensus candidate. Saves time, less drama. “Consensus will save us valuable time, this would have been better for all of us,” he told Reportersroom. “But if the aspirants can’t agree? We’ll do a direct primary, like the law says. If that’s what we have to do, we’ll do it.” Oyegun’s a former APC national chairman, by the way. Knows how these party fights go.
Amaechi’s already said he’s not stepping down for anyone. “I am not stepping down for anyone. Let the people decide who they want to lead,” he declared in Kano last week. Hayatu-Deen’s being a little less fiery, but he’s not dropping out either. Said he’ll back whoever wins a fair, transparent process. Media entrepreneur Dele Momodu said the big egos and all the money the aspirants have already spent make consensus almost impossible. “A competitive primary isn’t necessarily bad for the party,” he said. “As long as the process is credible.”
Another ADC chieftain, Timothy Osadolor, is pushing Atiku to negotiate. “No one’s in doubt as to Atiku’s capacity and competence in every party primary he’s been in,” he told Reportersroom. “But times have changed, perceptions have too. He’d be making a mistake thinking he can wish Amaechi away or run over him in today’s politics. With all due respect to Hayatu-Deen, the guy’s a sharp businessman, he’d serve Nigeria better running the economy than running for president. Atiku needs to consult, lobby, work towards a consensus. Either for himself or Amaechi. A full primary fight’s just gonna hurt the ADC, especially with other opposition players like Obi in the mix.”
