By David Lawani and Ben Adoga
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and party members for standing with him throughout the historic Eagle Square for many hours “such that day has turned into night and night back into day.”
He also promised that the party will go all out for victory in the 2023 presidential poll, saying, “We are here, we will roar. We will do it.”
A total of 2,322 delegates, three from each of the 774 local governments all over the country voted to determine Tinubu’s fate, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and 10 others.
Declaring the results of the exercise yesterday, the Chairman of the Election Committee of the convention and the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, declared Tinubu winner of the APC presidential primary.
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Tinubu polled 1,271 votes to beat 12 other contestants to clinch the presidential ticket.
While Rotimi Amaechi came second with 316 votes, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo secured 235 votes to come third, and Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, scored 152 votes.
Others were Governor Yahaya Bello- 47, Dave Umahi- 38 votes, Prof Ben Ayade- 37, Ahmed Rufai Sani- 4, Ogbonnaya Onu- 1, Pastor Tunde Bakare- 0, Senator Rochas Okorocha- 0, Jack Rich Tein- 0, and Ikeobasi Mokelu- 0. There were 13 void votes.
Shortly after announcing Tinubu as the winner, President Muhammadu Buhari performed a brief ceremony of handing the party’s flag to the former Lagos State governor as the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 election at about 3.07 pm.
This came after Tinubu had presented his acceptance speech at Eagle Square, Abuja, the venue of the APC’s special presidential convention.
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With his emergence, Tinubu will face the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and that of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, as well as others, in the 2023 general elections.
Earlier in his acceptance speech, Tinubu said he did not ‘expect to win the party’s presidential primary.
“I did not expect to win, I won. I must be intoxicated with victory,” he said.
The APC national leader also said he holds ‘no grudges’ against members of his party who worked against his candidature.
“The competition is now over. Those who did not support me, you have nothing to fear. I hold no grudges and grievances. Let us each agree to join hands in defeating PDP and beat back their retrogressive understanding of Nigeria,” he said.
Tinubu said PDP as the main opposition party had ruled the country for 16 years before it lost in 2015 to the APC.
“They had 16 years, they depleted our resources and left us with hunger. Let us dig their graves by defeating them in the next election because they are the agents of poverty, terror, violence, and lying”, Tinubu added.
He, however, thanked all the seven aspirants who stepped down for him during the primary.
He said, “You chose to step down through personal ambition and conviction that I will do a better job, not because you denigrate yourself, but because you trust in my brain that I am a thinker and I am a doer.”
Tinubu also thanked President Buhari and the APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who many believe was against his (Tinubu)’s emergence.
“I also offer my sincere gratitude to President Buhari for his calm and prudent leadership throughout this process. I thank him, also, for his steadfast determination to ensure a level playing field and a free and fair primary process for every aspirant. Without him, I would not be standing here today as the new flagbearer of Nigeria’s party.
“To the chairman of our party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, it appeared some weeks back that some newspapers and many people were ready to write the obituary of this party. We put together and pulled ourselves as a cat of nine lives. We poached you to come over, patched the roof, steady the pillars, and be a master builder.
“You came on and you worked hard with the collaboration of others. We worked with you, and a new national executive emerged. Here we are; shame on those who were already building the coffin of APC.
“Shame on them, our party is alive. They won’t be able to do the convention, but here we are. At the first convention to choose a new executive, the governors pulled themselves together, and many other leaders. We did break our backs, we are here, very happy and confident and courageous to tell you that the cat that lies down quietly is not a pretension of death, but breeding of the energy to devour its enemy. Now we are here, we will roar. We will do it.”
Tinubu added, “We will tell the Poverty Development Party. They call themselves PDP, 16 years of misery, wastefulness, failures, of forgetting about our children of today and tomorrow. We said, step aside, be buried, cry, and leave the way for us, we will repair our country and will bring it back as strong, the best nation for our children.”
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He invited party leaders to join him in the journey, adding that he did not know what he had done to be nominated.
The presidential candidate said the convention would be recorded as a shining moment in the evolution of “our party and the life of our nation”.
“I must thank you all for making me the standard-bearer of our progressive party. And I humbly accept the nomination of this convention to be the presidential candidate of our enlightened, humanitarian and great party, the All Progressives Congress,” he said.
The Jagaban Borgu, as he is popularly known, added, “I also offer my sincere gratitude to President Buhari for his calm and prudent leadership throughout this process. I thank him, also, for his steadfast determination to ensure a level-playing field and a free and fair primary process for every aspirant. Without him, I would not be standing here today as the new flagbearer of Nigeria’s party.”
He also thanked the state governors for their invaluable contribution to internal democracy and unity.
“I commend the party leadership and organisers for the conduct of a successful convention,” Tinubu stated.
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In the wake of the victory, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, congratulated the National Leader of the APC.
Abiodun, in a statement issued by him in Abeokuta, said the emergence of Tinubu as the APC presidential flag-bearer for the 2023 general election is a good omen for the party and the country as a whole.
According to him, the victory shows that Tinubu is widely loved and accepted within the country’s entire political spectrum, and shows his level of deep interactions and acceptance not only within the ruling APC but across Nigeria.
He said: “This victory indicates that Tinubu, as a candidate, is good for Nigeria, as it will foster unity, love, and understanding amongst Nigerians. His electoral victory cut across all the six geopolitical zones; he had an impact in all the zones. He is the candidate to beat in the 2023 elections.
Abiodun noted that Tinubu’s extensive political experience and understanding of national politics will surely come in handy when he squares up against candidates from other political parties during the 2023 presidential election.
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Also, Ekiti State Governor and Tinubu’s fellow APC presidential aspirant, Dr Kayode Fayemi, congratulated Tinubu on his emergence.
Fayemi, who is also the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), also congratulated the party leadership and the convention planning committee for the successful conduct of the special convention and presidential primary, as well as President Muhammadu Buhari for superintending over a free, fair, and credible process as national leader of the party.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Yinka Oyebode, Fayemi said Tinubu’s emergence represents the collective wish of the vast majority of members of the APC, adding that the former Lagos State governor has proven his dedication and competence to lead the country at such an important time in history.
Fayemi, who stepped down and endorsed Tinubu at the convention, described the APC flag bearer as a “long-distance runner”, who can lead the country to greater heights come 2023.
*Reactions trail victory
Meanwhile, there was wild jubilation in the Abuja Eagles Square, the venue of the just concluded APC primary election convention which threw up Tinubu as a presidential candidate.
One of those who reacted was former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Ndoma-Egba said the victory was resounding and well-deserved, as he worked towards it.
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He described Tinubu as an experienced politician who has what it takes to win an election, and that the APC would go into the 2023 contest with its head lifted high, confident, and calculating.
He called on party members and other contestants to close ranks and ensure another resounding victory in 2023.
Ndoma-Egba also commended the committee members for organising a very successful convention, noting that it is not easy managing a crowd of such magnitude.
Another delegate from Cross River central, Dr Joseph Ojiji, commended Tinubu for pulling such a huge number of votes.
“He has just demonstrated that he is the Jagaban of Nigerian politics. With Tinubu, we are good to go, ready for 2023 without fear.
“Tinubu has all it takes to defeat any candidate in any party in Nigeria. He will match Atiku Naira for Naira, Dollars for Dollars, he is a grassroots man, a political mobiliser, and one who is accepted across the length and breadth of Nigeria; just see the spread of votes from all zones.
“You know we from Cross River had a candidate in the person of our governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, but look at it, we were 54 delegates from Cross River State, Ayade got 37 votes. Some of the votes may come from friends and admirers outside the state; this tells you that Asiwaju is the candidate to beat in the 2023 presidential election,” he said.
For one time senator and prominent politician from Cross River southern senatorial zone, Florence Ita–Giwa, “it’s good. All’s well that ends well.”
She commended all the aspirants for their maturity and peaceful conduct.
While congratulating Tinubu, she said he is a brave and dogged politician with sagacity.
