Tinubu Vs Osifo: APC Adopts Direct Primary For 2027 Presidential Ticket

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has announced that its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election will emerge through a direct primary election.

The exercise is scheduled to hold across the 8,809 wards in the country on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

The APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, disclosed this in an official notice released on Thursday night, where he outlined the party’s guidelines and framework for the presidential primary.

The primary will see President Bola Tinubu contest for the party’s ticket against another presidential aspirant, Stanley Osifo.

Basiru said the party adopted the direct primary model to allow all registered APC members to participate in the selection of its presidential candidate.

According to him, every registered member of the ruling party will be eligible to vote for the aspirant of their choice at the ward level.

“All registered members of the party shall be eligible to vote for the presidential aspirant of their choice in each of the 8,809 wards across the country,” Basiru stated.

The APC said the decision reflected its commitment to internal democracy and broad participation by party members.

Explaining the structure of the exercise, Basiru said the direct primary would be held simultaneously in all the 8,809 wards across the federation.

He added that results from the wards would be collated at the local government level before moving to the state level and then to the national collation centre in Abuja.

“The direct primary will be held in each of the 8,809 wards. Results for each ward, comprising the 774 Local Governments, will be collated by the Local Government Collation Officer, to be appointed by the State Coordinator and Collation Officer appointed by the National Working Committee,” the notice read.

Basiru further explained that state coordinators and collation officers would be responsible for organising and supervising the exercise in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The organization and conduct of the direct primary in each of the 36 states and the FCT shall be the responsibility of the State Coordinator and Collation Officer. They shall also collate the results of all the local governments in the state and present the same to the Presidential Primary Election Committee in Abuja, FCT, on May 24, 2026,” he added.

The party also said the presidential primary would be conducted in line with its operational guidelines earlier sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

According to the notice, the guidelines were forwarded to INEC in a letter dated May 15, 2026.

The APC said the guidelines would guide the conduct of the direct primary and ensure consistency in the process across the country.

To oversee the exercise, the APC National Working Committee appointed former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, as chairman of the seven-member Presidential Primary Election Committee.

Other members of the committee are former Senate President Ken Nnamani; Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN; former Minister of Women Affairs, Grace Titi Laoye-Ponle; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; former Kogi State governor, Idris Wada; and Sanusi Musa, who will serve as secretary.

The party also constituted an Appeal Committee to handle complaints that may arise from the exercise.

The Appeal Committee will be chaired by former Katsina State governor, Aminu Masari, while Samuel Piwuna will serve as secretary. A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, was also named as a member.

For state-level oversight, the APC appointed sitting governors as coordinators in their respective states.

However, in states not controlled by the APC, the party named key political stakeholders to coordinate the exercise and supervise collation.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, will coordinate the presidential primary in Abia State, while Senator Philip Aduda will take charge of the Federal Capital Territory.

Other designated coordinators include Senator Teslim Folarin for Oyo State, former Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola, for Osun State, Senator Uche Ekwunife for Anambra State, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, for Bauchi State.

The arrangement means that in opposition-controlled states, the ruling party will rely on its senior members and stakeholders to manage the primary instead of sitting governors who do not belong to the APC.

The primary is expected to test the strength of President Tinubu within the ruling party as he seeks the APC ticket for the 2027 election.

His challenger, Stanley Osifo, is also expected to canvass support among registered party members during the direct primary.

The winner of the exercise will emerge after the collation of results from the wards, local government areas and states, with the final results expected to be presented to the Presidential Primary Election Committee in Abuja on May 24, 2026.