The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday commenced the collation of results from its nationwide direct presidential primary election at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
The exercise followed Saturday’s voting across 8,809 wards in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as the ruling party moved to select its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The primary marked a significant shift from the party’s previous delegate-based system, with the APC adopting a direct primary model that allowed registered party members across the country to participate in the voting process.
President Bola Tinubu faced businessman and former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant Stanley Osifo in the contest after Osifo emerged as the only challenger to purchase the party’s ₦100 million nomination form.
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A seven-member Presidential Primary Election Committee, chaired by former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, is supervising the exercise. Other members of the committee include former Senate President Ken Nnamani and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara.
APC governors also served as collation officers in their respective states.
Results announced from several states showed victories for Tinubu, with Osifo recording little or no votes in many areas.
In Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara announced that Tinubu secured 280,468 votes, while Osifo polled zero votes.
In Edo State, Governor Monday Okpebholo declared Tinubu the winner with 131,096 votes, while Osifo secured one vote.
Other states also recorded landslide victories for the President. In Ogun State, Tinubu polled 322,485 votes across 236 wards, while he secured 450,516 votes in Gombe State.
Similar outcomes were recorded in states including Osun, Ebonyi, Kwara, Zamfara, Cross River, Sokoto, Ondo and Bauchi.
In Abia State, Tinubu scored 161,005 votes against Osifo’s 1,007 votes, while in Bayelsa State, Tinubu recorded over 227,000 votes, with Osifo polling five votes.
President Tinubu also participated in the primary election at his Ikoyi-Obalende Ward L2 in Lagos, where he expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the exercise nationwide, describing it as a reflection of the party’s internal democratic process and grassroot politics.
Top APC figures, including governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive Committee (NEC), lawmakers and party stalwarts, are present at the Abuja collation centre as the exercise continued. Vice President Kashim Shettima was also expected at the venue.
The collation process is expected to culminate in the formal declaration of the winner and presentation of the party’s certificate of return and flag to Tinubu, positioning him as the APC’s candidate for the forthcoming 2027 presidential election.
