…as Osifo concedes defeat
By Damilare Adeleye
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to formally receive the certificate of return and flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The presentation ceremony is scheduled to hold on Sunday at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, following the nationwide collation of results from the APC presidential primary election.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
According to Onanuga, the event will attract top party leaders and key stakeholders from across the country.
“APC governors, members of the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee, and the National Assembly, along with party stalwarts, will attend the event,” the statement read.
The planned presentation of the party’s certificate and flag comes amid ongoing political realignments and preparations ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Tinubu’s challenger in the APC presidential primary, Stanley Osifo, has conceded defeat and pledged loyalty to the ruling party.
Osifo made his position known in a video circulating on social media on Saturday evening, where he stressed his commitment to party unity and discipline despite the outcome of the primary process.
“As a party man and as a member, I don’t have to fight my party and I will never do that. Irrespective of whatever the outcome of our electoral processes and the primaries is, I have to abide by the party,” he said.
The APC aspirant also warned against actions capable of destabilizing the party, insisting that he would not be provoked into taking steps against the platform to which he belongs.
“No matter what happens, I don’t see anything that will make me do things inimical to my party or allow myself to be pushed. There are certain actions people will take just to get you upset, to get you angry, and to make you do certain things against the party you belong to. I cherish my party so much, so I would never allow anyone to push me to do anything against it,” Osifo added.
Osifo’s concession is expected to further consolidate support within the APC ahead of the formal unveiling of Tinubu as the party’s standard-bearer for the next presidential election cycle.