President Bola Tinubu on Sunday extended an olive branch to his sole primary challenger, Stanley Osifo, declaring that he bore no grudge against him.
He also expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with political opponents and critics of his administration.
Addressing party leaders and supporters at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja after being declared the APC presidential candidate for 2027 with 10.9 million votes, Tinubu said democracy is built not on uniformity of thought but on diversity of ideas anchored in a shared belief in the nation.
He said, “To those who despise our philosophy, we offer dialogue and engagement, not anger, confident that the sincerity of our purpose and the result of our work will speak for themselves.”
Addressing his challenger directly, he stated, “I owe you no grudge, including Osifo, who spent his money.”
Osifo, a businessman from Edo State, paid N100 million for the APC presidential nomination form and refused to step down after a planned consensus arrangement for the primary collapsed.
He polled 16,503 votes nationwide.
Tinubu said disagreement with the opposition is a feature of democracy rather than a threat.
He said, “You may be angry with our party, we don’t have to agree. Democracy is sustained not by uniformity but by diversity, by a shared belief in the nation, and the blending of ideas.”
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