Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emerged as the presidential flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following a well contested primary election held at the Eagle Square in the nation’s capital.

According to the results declared Wednesday, it was a landslide victory for the former Lagos State Governor who scored 1,271 votes, followed by former Minister of Transportation and one time governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who scored 316 votes while current Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, a Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) came a distant third with 235 votes.

President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan came 4th with a total of 152 votes. Recall that Dr Lawan was declared the consensus candidate for the party by the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu prior to the commencement of the convention in circumstances that was described as ‘kite-flying’. This did not go down well with other aspirants, delegates and the governors of the APC-controlled northern states who flatly rejected it.

Governors Yahaya Bello of Kogi (47 votes), David Umahi of Ebonyi (38 votes) and Ben Ayade of Cross River (37 votes) fell beyond their own expectations as they came 5th, 6th and 7th respectively.

Tinubu

Below are the results:

Rochas Okorocha – 0

Tunde Bakare – 0

Jack-Rich – 0

Ikeobasi Mokelu – 0

Emeka Nwajiuba – 1

Ogbonnaya Onu – 1

Ahmed Sani – 4

Ben Ayade – 37

Dave Umahi – 38

Yahaya Bello – 47

Ahmad Lawan – 152

Yemi Osinbajo – 235

Chibuike Amaechi – 316

Bola Ahmed Tinubu – 1,272

… Flurry Of Endorsements

After weeks of political drama and intrigues during which the party held several meetings and tried but failed to get a consensus candidate, things started to swing Tinubu’s way when aspirants were called to address delegates before voting began.

Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, was the first aspirant to step up. Rather than solicit votes for himself, he endorsed Tinubu and appealed to delegates to vote for the APC chieftain.

Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, followed in Akpabio’s lead

Two other aspirants — Senator Ajayi Boroffice and Dimeji Bankole — also signalled their support for Tinubu.

Another major endorsement for Tinubu came from Jigawa State Governor, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.

The only female in the contest, Uju Ken-Ohanenye, also endorsed the APC chieftain.

The only other endorsement from an aspirant came from Nicholas Felix to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Although 23 aspirants were billed to participate in the primary, nine of them – including the seven aspirants who endorsed Tinubu and Felix who stepped down for Osinbajo – pulled out of the contest.

The ninth aspirant who announced his withdrawal was former Senate President Ken Nnamani who decried the failure of the party to zone its ticket to the South East.

Thereafter, 14 aspirants went into the contest as voting commenced in earnest. They include Tinubu, Osinbajo, Amaechi, Lawan, Umahi, and Rochas Okorocha.

Others are Yahaya Bello, Tein Jack-Rich, Emeka Nwajiuba, Ben Ayade, Ikeobasi Mokelu, Ogbonnaya Onu, Tunde Bakare, and Sani Yerima.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu being congratulated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

Reacting to his emergence as the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu said  he didn’t expect to win the party’s primary election.

He said Nigeria is back on track following his victory at the just concluded APC National Convention at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, please forgive me for keeping you this long. I didn’t expect to win, I must be intoxicated for victory,” the APC flag-bearer said while mounting the podium to give his acceptance speech.

“We are confident, courageous that this nation is back on track. All our state governors here present, it is not my job alone.”

The APC chieftain called for unity among other contestants, saying the common goal was to defeat the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He added,  “The competition is now over. Those who did not support me, you have nothing to fear. I owe no grudges or grievance, let us all agree to join hands in defeating the PDP.”

“We have been at historic Eagle Square for many hours such that day has turned into night and night back into day.

Because of your democratic exertion, this convention shall be recorded as a shining moment in the evolution of our party and the life of our nation.

“I must thank you all for making me the standard bearer of our progressive party. And I humbly accept the nomination of this convention to be the presidential candidate of our enlightened, humanitarian and great party, the All Progressives Congress.

I also offer my sincere gratitude to President Buhari for his calm and prudent leadership throughout this process. I thank him, also, for his steadfast determination to ensure a level playing field and a free and fair primary process for every aspirant. Without him, I would not be standing here today as the new flagbearer of Nigeria’s party.

“I thank the governors for their invaluable contribution to internal democracy and unity.

Thank you, the delegates, for the confidence you have shown in me. I will prove that your choice was a wise one. You have moved our party and country towards its best future. On your mandate I shall stand.

I commend my fellow aspirants. It is a difficult thing to run for president. The stiff and bold competition you offered made our party stronger and made me better. I must say a special word of thanks to the seven aspirants [Alhaji Badaru Abubakar; Sen.; Ibikunle Amosun; Sen. Ajayi Borrofice; Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole; Sen. Godswill Akpabio; Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and Barr.(Mrs.) Uju Kennedy] who chose to step down their personal ambitions for the good of the party and the unity of our purpose.

The competition is now over.

“Those who did not support me, you have nothing to fear. I hold no grudges or grievances.

Let us each agree to join hands in defeating the PDP and beating back our common foes of poverty, terror and violence. We now have a date with destiny in February 2023. Let us win so Nigeria can become the nation it is intended to be.

“Yes, we face serious problems. But I believe that we have it within us to reach our finest destiny. With help from God, we shall make this nation better for the generations to come.

“President Muhamamdu Buhari has already laid a solid foundation in security, economy, and anti-corruption. We will build upon this for the salvation of our people.

So, I ask you:

Do we dare reform our national economy such that prosperity grows as poverty vanishes?

Yes, we dare.

Do we dare provide meaningful education and jobs for our youths so that they may strive for a better future?

“Yes, we dare. Our teeming youth population is our nation’s greatest asset. We will create jobs for our youth from the Zamfara and Osun gold deposits to the vast agricultural lands across the country. We will create new ooportunities in the FINTECH sector, the creative and entertainment industries, digital skills and other areas.

Do we dare feed our nation and provide the farmer a solid income for his toil?

Yes, we dare.

Do we dare construct a society where the vulnerable, the weak, the disadvantaged and the elderly are attended to and loved?

Yes, for we must care for those who cannot care for themselves.

Do we dare muster our collective strength to conquer terrorism, kidnapping, and violent evil of any form?

Yes, we dare.

After the PDP convention, I commended Abubakar Atiku. The ensuing contest between our party and his will be one of competing visions.

Our vision is of progress and the future that can be. We must defeat the PDP’s reactionary ideals.

Our better, more progressive vision of Nigeria shall secure a better society for all Nigerians.

“May this be our task arising from this convention. Let nothing stand in the way of our achieving a more just society and a greater Nigeria”.