By Desire Emmanuel
A man described as an “Edo trader” who purchased the N100 million Expression of Interest and Nomination forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary has said that no one should tell him to step down for President Bola Tinubu.
The man, Stanley Osifo, said this on Tuesday when he purchased the forms at the National Secretariat of the APC in Abuja.
According to him, he has all it takes to confront the president during the primary, and vowed to emerge as the presidential candidate of the party in 2027.
Addressing speculations about alleged backing from the president, Osifo dismissed the claims, saying: “It is not strange to hear people say Tinubu is the one sponsoring me… I can categorically tell you that I have never benefited one kobo from him.”
The aspirant stressed that both party and electoral laws allow any qualified member to contest for any position.
Osifo further stated: “There is no part of our party constitution that says that if anyone is endorsed, he automatically becomes the candidate of the party.
“INEC law also mandates an aspirant to vie for the ticket of any political office he qualifies for. So no one should tell me to step down for Tinubu, we will meet at the primary.”
Osifo’s declaration comes amid a wave of endorsements for Tinubu within the party, with all 32 APC governors backing the president as the party’s sole candidate for the presidential election in 2027.
