Tinubu: We Won’t Rest Until We Restore Peace, Stability to Every Corner of Nigeria

* Receives certificate of return after 10.9m votes win at primaries, lists feats in three years

* Extends hand of friendship to critics, seeks cooperation in nation’s interest

* Says 2027 not about party contest or ideas but reaffirmation of nation’s democratic maturity

Deji Elumoye and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has vowed that his government will not not relent in its determination to restore peace and stability to all the nook and crannies of Nigeria.

Delivering an acceptance speech on Sunday in Abuja after receiving Certificate of Return as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate for 2027 general election, Tinubu acknowledged the security challenges facing parts of the country, assuring Nigerians that he would take seriously the responsibility to safeguard the lives and property of every Nigerian.

According to him, “Our government has intensified efforts to strengthen our security architecture, support our brave armed forces and the police, and forge stronger partnerships with local communities.

“We have invested in intelligence, surveillance and modern equipment, and we are addressing the root causes of insecurity. We also expect the National Assembly to amend the constitution to allow the creation of state police as a matter of national emergency.

“We will not rest until we restore peace and stability to every corner of our country. Our resolve is unwavering and our goal is clear: a Nigeria where every citizen can live, work and aspire without fear.”

Addressing APC stakeholders and leaders including governors, National Assembly members and National Working Committee (NWC) members led by the national chairman, Prof Netawe Yilwatda, the president who got 10.9 million votes from party members at the presidential primaries held on Saturday listed the achievements of his administration across all sectors of economy since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.

Tinubu acknowledged the steadfast support and sacrifices of Nigerians across all walks of life who continue to believe in the difficult but necessary path of reform his government has chosen to rebuild the Nigerian nation.

He stated: “Since that night in June 2022, a lot has changed. The political landscape has evolved. Electoral reforms have strengthened the credibility of our democratic process. Voting patterns and expectations are shifting. Our economy has undergone significant structural reform, supported by new tax laws and fiscal policies that have boosted revenue collection for the federation.

“We promised to remove the financial barriers to higher education for our youth. Today, we have established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, with over N282 billion disbursed and more than 1.5 million beneficiaries.

“We promised an improved power supply and an end to estimated billing. In the past three years, we have closed the metering gap by supplying 2.5 million meters via the Presidential Metering Initiative.

“We have established a N4 trillion bond programme to settle verified legacy debts owed to GENCOs and GASCOs. Under our administration, power generation sometimes peaked at 6,000MW, 50 per cent higher than what we inherited. Our strategy is focused on redesigning the power sector into a bankable, investable and capable sector that delivers power to homes and industries.

“We moved away from wasteful fuel subsidies, unstable exchange rates, and weak infrastructure. Today, we are witnessing a turnaround: the naira is strengthening, foreign reserves are rising, and our economic outlook is positive despite the inflationary disruption caused by the war in Iran and the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.

“We have strengthened macroeconomic stability through improved revenue performance, financial management, and better fiscal coordination.

“We have prioritised infrastructure across transportation, power, digital connectivity, housing, and irrigation as engines for inclusive growth. We are building concrete, durable roads and superhighways along the coast and on the Sokoto–Badagry route that will last for over 100 years.

“We are improving our airports and seaports after decades of neglect. We have reformed the oil and gas sector and are attracting billions of dollars in fresh investment in a sector that was almost comatose.

“Our social investment and human capital programmes target vulnerable households, youth, women, and small businesses. In addition, we are reclaiming our national values and ethos anchored on unity and the unbroken bond of togetherness.

“While our founding and now revived national anthem recognises our diversity, it reminds us of the work we need to do to forge a stronger and more perfect union. Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand. As Nigerians, we must continue to stand together for our country against all forces that seek to divide us.”

The president also extended hand of fellowship to critics in his bold move to take Nigeria to greater heights.

According to him, “To those who may disagree with us politically, we extend a hand of partnership in nation-building. To those who differ with our philosophy, we offer dialogue and engagement, confident that the sincerity of our purpose and the results of our work will speak for themselves.

“Democracy is sustained not by uniformity but by diversity, by a shared belief in the nation and the blending of ideas.

“Let us come together as Nigerians, from north to south, east to west, to consolidate our gains, tackle our challenges, and seize the promise of a greater tomorrow. The task ahead requires patriotism and collective effort.”

Tinubu said disagreement with the opposition is a feature of democracy rather than a threat.

“You may be angry with our party; we don’t have to agree. Democracy is sustained not by uniformity but by diversity, by a shared belief in the nation, and the blending of ideas.

“To those who despise our philosophy, we offer dialogue and engagement, not anger, confident that the sincerity of our purpose and the results of our work will speak for themselves,” he said.

While congratulating his opponent for the APC presidential ticket, Stanley Osifo, for being a good sportsman and accepting the outcome of the party primaries, he said he bore no grudge against him.

Addressing his challenger directly by name, the president stated, “I owe you no grudge, including Osifo, who spent his money.”

Osifo, a businessman from Edo State, who paid N100 million for the APC presidential nomination form and refused to step down after a planned consensus arrangement for the primary collapsed, polled 16,503 votes nationwide.

Advising Nigerians not to gamble with the forthcoming election, Tinubu said: “This next election must not merely be a contest of parties or ideas, but a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s democratic maturity. As a government, we have taken giant steps forward. Let’s not give in to complacency by allowing politicians with no clear alternative vision to take our country backward.

“With faith in God, confidence in our people, and hope in our future, I accept this nomination with a renewed resolve to serve our people. I thank all our party members for bestowing on me the honour of being our torchbearer and candidate in the January 2027 election.

“Together, and with the help of God Almighty, we shall build a more secure, united and prosperous Nigeria for generations to come. I pledge to build an even more inclusive government, one that listens, learns and leads with the best interests of all Nigerians at heart.”

Also speaking, the National Chairman of APC,  Prof Yilwatda, described the turnout of the congresses held on Saturday to nominate the 2027 presidential candidate of the party as a mock demonstration of what the general election would look like. 

Yilwatda stressed that the APC was becoming the rallying point for all political parties, saying everybody wants to be in the APC. 

He said: ”The competition to be in the APC is quite high, and we see thousands of people buying our forms. It shows how our party is accepted by Nigerians and by the people. 

“If you see the mass turnout yesterday in all the congresses held to nominate the president, the numbers were in their thousands, and this is just a mock demonstration of what the general election will look like. 

“It shows clearly that no other party would win the election because the numbers turning out are in the thousands. Believe me, no political party can showcase one-tenth of what we presented in their own congresses. It shows that we are on the path, and the winning path.”

On the rancour witnessed during the House of Representatives, Senate, and the governorship primaries, the chairman said while everybody wants to be the one elected, the party would immediately activate its internal mechanisms for conflict resolution.

According to the APC chairman, “Of course. You should know that when it comes to power, it is a game of power, and everybody wants to be the one elected. Everyone wants to find reasons why he should be elected. But we as a party have internal mechanisms for conflict resolution. 

“We have the presidential conflict resolution team and the party reconciliation team. So we activate them to go down to the state level and the national level to ensure quicker reconciliation, a fast healing process, and they will merge it with campaigns to ensure that we win the 2027 election.”

Bearing his minds on aggrieved aspirants who alleged that they were not given fair chance during the primaries, Yilwatda noted that there is no “would have” in a political contest anywhere in the world of this nature and nobody complains. 

His words: “There is no situation where, for example, in a state, we are looking for one candidate and we have 16 people vying for that position of governorship. Sixteen out of 16, and you need to pick only one. All of them are eminently qualified—former senators, former DAs, PhD holders, medical doctors, bankers, oil magnates. Everybody is qualified, and everyone has spread and capacity. 

“So among them, we must pick one of the very best, and for sure people will have one or two complaints. But that is usual in our politics.

“There is no way you can have a political contest anywhere in the world of this nature and nobody complains. In fact, if you see any political party where nobody complains about congresses or internal elections, that party is actually weak. Strong parties have strong opposition from within, all vying for positions.

“It is just like a football league—imagine a league where nobody is complaining; it means the league is not competitive. The competition here is quite high, and every Nigerian looks up to the APC as a vehicle that will bring them to power in 2027.”

On certain videos circulating where counting was going on and numbers like “1, 2, 3, 7,000” were mentioned, he described them as unverified videos.

“Sometimes you see videos online. I even received a video that was sent to me, which I later found out was from an event that happened three or four years ago. 

Yilwatda stated: “These are unverified videos and were not even meant for our party activities. They were from activities somewhere else, even union or leadership elections in different settings, but are being circulated as if they are APC activities.

“If you check all our activities, we have our flags, our banners, and people raising their membership cards. In those videos, you cannot see any APC banner anywhere. So it shows clearly that those were not APC activities.”

Also, Chairman APC Presidential Primary Election Committee, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said the elections were conducted across 8,809 wards across the federation and were subsequently collated at the local government and state levels.

The former Senate President observed that the direct primary model adopted by the APC was not only an effort to select candidates for the 2027 elections, but more importantly to give effect to the long-standing call for electoral reforms, which culminated in fundamental amendments to the Electoral Act.

He noted: “By this groundbreaking model, the APC has become the first political party to adopt the direct primary election model for its presidential primary election.

“I am minded to say, therefore, that the central intent of the APC in adopting the direct primary model includes: one, to deepen democratic participation; two, to ensure inclusivity; and three, to expand the political space.

“I wish to briefly state that the essentials of the direct primary model include: it provides opportunity for all members of the party to participate in the process; it forecloses the vote associated with delegate elections; it offers transparency, as against secret ballot; and it enhances the confidence of each voter that his or her vote counts. These are the core values the APC not only seeks to promote but also to inculcate in our electoral system.”

On his part, the Governor of Niger State, Umar Bago, said the  provisions of the Electoral Act has provided for either direct primaries or consensus, adding that where they were unable to build consensus, they had to do direct primaries.

He stated: “As such, for the president, the Electoral Act has proven itself, that no matter your status, you would have to be in compliance with the Electoral Act. 

“As such, there were direct primaries across my states and across the country to select our party flag bearer, which is our president. And that happened smoothly, rank or free, and we are excited.

“And that’s why everybody is here, from different states of this country, to submit results that were collated across all our electoral wards across Nigeria.”

Statistics made available by APC showed that Tinubu won the party’s presidentisl primary with a total of 10.9 million votes to beat his lone challenger, Stanley Osifo, who scored 16,504 votes.

The ruling party last Saturday conducted direct primaries across 8,809 wards nationwide to elect the presidential candidate of the party in the 2027 general election.

According to the party, a total of 12,643,316 members were registered; 11,069,756 were accredited; while the total votes cast was 11,015,665. 

Surprisingly, there were no void votes.

According to the official results declared by the party, Tinubu polled 227,192 votes in Bayelsa as against Osifo’s five votes; in Osun the president scored 100,888 votes, while Osifo recorded no vote.

The story was the same in Oyo where Tinubu polled 142,754 votes as against Osifo’s 929 votes; while in Anambra, Tinubu polled 43,034 votes, whereas Osifo scored 384 votes; the president scored 36,103 votes in FCT and Osifo recorded zero vote.

In Kano, Tinubu scored 500,852, votes against Osfio’s 2,675 votes; while in Katsina, Tinubu polled 467, 003 votes, whereas Osifo scored 229 votes.

The president scored 161, 005 votes in Abia, while Osifo scored 1,007 votes, the story was the same in Kogi, where Tinubu polled  197, 370 votes and Osifo scored zero.

Similarly, in Delta State, Tinubu polled 407,646 votes, while Osifo scored zero; the president also defeated Osifo in Ebonyi with 207,579 votes; whereas in Jigawa, Tinubu scored 206,520 and Osifo scored zero.

Other results are: Plateau – Tinubu -241,720, Osifo – 303; Kwara – Tinubu 310,990, Osifo scored zero votes; and in Edo scored Tinubu – 121, 098 votes, Osifo scored one vote.

Tinubu won Nasarawa with 285, 436 votes against 768 votes scored by Osifo; the president also won Niger with 175, 487 votes against  5,248 votes scored by Osifo.

In Borno, Tinubu scored  414,988 votes, while Osifo scored zero; Tinubu won Enugu with  383,382 votes against zero vote recorded by Osifo and in Kebbi, Tinubu polled  292,972 voted , while Osifo recorded zero vote.

Tinubu won Kaduna with 618,914, while Osifo scored zero; there was no upset in Bauchi as Tinubu polled 156,541 votes, while Osifo scored 2,650 votes.

The president maintained his winning streak in Ondo with 181,996 votes, Osifo got zero; while in Yobe, Tinubu polled  253, 804 and Osifo got zero.

The story was the same in Rivers as Tinubu polled 280 082 votes, whereas Osifo got zero, while in Akwa Ibom, Tinubu scored 389, 197 votes and Osifo got zero.

Tinubu also won Benue with  374, 787 vites, while Osifo got  779 votes; the results in Imo were no different with Tinubu scoring  582, 960 votes while Osifo 103 votes. 

Tinubu tightened his grip on Ekiti with 85,340 votes, while Osifo polled zero. The president showed he wasn’t messing around as he polled  814, 988 votes in Lagos while Osifo got  1,186.

In Zamfara, Tinubu got 321,579 votes, while Osifo scored 42 votes; while in Ogun the president polled  322, 485, whereas Osifo got zero.

The president won Sokoto with  301,000 votes, while Osifo again scored zero, whereas in Cross River, Tinubu scored 113, 911 zero against zero scored by Osifo.

In Taraba, Tinubu scored 183, 698 votes, while Osifo got zero, whereas in Gombe, Tinubu polled 450, 517 votes, Osifo got zero and in Adamawa, Tinubu scored 644, 149, while Osifo got 195 votes.