By Prevail Inegbenose
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2026 general election after recording a sweeping victory in the party’s nationwide primary election held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The Chairman of the APC Presidential Primary Election Committee, Pius Anyim, declared Tinubu winner on Saturday after the president secured 10,999,162 votes to defeat his only challenger, Mr. Stanley Osifu, who polled 16,503 votes.
Announcing the results before governors, federal lawmakers, party delegates and members of the National Working Committee, Anyim said the exercise was conducted across the 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory, 774 local government areas and 8,809 wards nationwide.
According to figures released by the committee, the APC registered 12,643,306 members for the primary election, while 11,069,756 members were accredited to participate in the exercise.
Out of the accredited voters, a total of 11,015,665 votes were cast, with Tinubu winning by a margin of 10,982,659 votes in what party officials described as one of the widest victory margins in the history of the party’s internal elections.
“By the powers conferred on me as the returning officer of this primary election, I hereby declare President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the APC presidential primary election and the duly elected presidential candidate of the party,” Anyim announced.
The declaration sparked wild jubilation inside the ICC as party supporters, ministers, governors and delegates erupted in celebration, chanting solidarity songs and waving party flags in support of the president.
The outcome further consolidates Tinubu’s grip on the ruling party ahead of the 2026 presidential election, with APC leaders presenting the result as a demonstration of party unity, grassroots mobilisation and nationwide confidence in the president’s leadership.
Abuja Times reports that political observers say the landslide victory is expected to strengthen the APC’s early campaign momentum as attention gradually shifts toward the general election contest.