It is Official! Tinubu Is APC Presidential Flagbearer
Former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Wednesday at the Eagles’ Square in Abuja won the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), confirming his claim that it is his turn to rule from 2023.
He scored 1,271 votes from the total of 2,260 votes, beating Rotimi Amaechi who scored 316 votes to a distant second position.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who grew up under the political tutelage of Tinubu but who decided to contest against his master was also at a distant third, polling 235 votes.
Other contestants, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan got 152, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi state got 47, Engr. Umahi Nweze 38, Ben Ayade 37, Sen. Danni Yerima 4 votes, Christopher Onu 1, Emeka Nwajiuba 1, Tien Jack Rich 0, Rochas Okorocha 0, Ike Obasi Mokelu 0, and Pastor Tunde Bakare 0.
Before the announcement of the results, the spokesperson of the Yemi Osinbajo campaign organisation, Richard Akinola, congratulated Tinubu via a Facebook post.
In the post, Akinnola wrote, “Congratulations, Asiwaju Tinubu, the presumed winner of the primaries. In any contest, there must be a winner. However, I’m very proud of my choice of support in the person of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
“I have no iota of regret over my support for him. It was a privilege to play a pivotal role for him during the process.
“I would gladly do it over and over again. It’s a matter of conviction. And for all our supporters and other volunteers who worked assiduously, day and night on the PYO project, God bless you all”.
A total of 2,260 delegates selected from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory participated in the electoral process that produced Tinubu.
From the moments that his victory was evident, fans and supporters of Bola Tinubu took to the social media to congratulate him with the hashtag #BAT2023 trending on Twitter with about 28.8 thousand tweets.
Tinubu’s victory is the outcome of his several years of toils, building alliances and networking across the six geopolitical zones of the country. He has now reaped his sweats, leaving his critics to bite the dust.
With this victory at the party’s convention, the party is now expected to rebuild, mending the crack wall and bringing those that are bittered back to the fold for the bigger battle ahead.
Tinubu is seen as the only candidate that can contend with Atiku Abubakar, the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whom, the former had in 2011 supported to contest against former President Goodluck Jonathan. Atiku today remains the only Nigerian that has contested the presidency on two political platforms and failed.
He contested on Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) in 2011 and again on the platform of the PDP in 2019. He lost on the two occasions. He will want to win this time. And contesting against a formidable opponent and friend, Tinubu, the 2023 elections will be interesting as one that pits two friends against one another.
Tinubu has been a force in Nigerian politics since the NADECO era and he served from 1992 to 1993 as a senator until the end of the Nigerian Third Republic. His election as the governor of Lagos state, serving from 1999 to 2007 plunged him into the greater limelight, making him a household name.
During his eight-year rule, the federal government starved the state of funds following the creation of new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to bring governance to the grassroots, but his resolve to perform steered him to improve on the IGR to the surprise of all and initiated reforms that improved the efficiency of the civil service and improved infrastructure in the state. Today, his performance in Lagos where he has become a kingmaker has made him a rallying point in the Nigerian political landscape.
Before entering politics, he worked in the private sector for companies including Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, Haskins, & Sells. He was also an executive of Mobil Oil Nigeria.
After Tinubu left politics, he became active in negotiations to unite Nigeria’s opposition parties and in pushing for electoral reforms. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University in business administration in 1979.
He holds the tribal aristocratic title of asiwaju, given to him by the Oba of Lagos, who holds a ceremonial position as the traditional leader of the state of Lagos.
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