A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Osifo Stanley, is set to pick the 2027 presidential ticket to challenge the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.

 

 

 

Declaring his intention on Monday, Stanley is said to be the first aspirant to publicly contest the party’s presidential primary against Tinubu.

 

This is as the party’s governors, National Assembly members and other stakeholders during the March convention adopted Tinubu as the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election.

 

 

State chapters, including Bauchi, Borno, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ekiti and Lagos, had subsequently endorsed the President in quick succession, presenting what appeared to be a closed field.

 

However, addressing newsmen in Abuja on Monday, Stanley stressed that he had already requested the party’s account details for the payment of the requisite fees, making clear that his declaration was not rhetorical but operational.

 

 

The Edo-born politician anchored his defiance squarely on the law.

 

“I believe strongly that we all have the right to enjoy our constitutionally-guaranteed rights to run,” he said, invoking both the APC constitution and the Electoral Act 2026 as amended.

 

According to him, no endorsement, however sweeping, could substitute for the formal process of a primary election.