APC Primary: Fayemi, Amosun, Akpabio, 4 Others Drop Presidential Ambition, Back Tinubu

Pat Stevens/

Three frontline aspirants, Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, former Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and immediate past Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, have stepped down for the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at the ongoing presidential primary of the party in Abuja.

They were joined by four other aspirants – Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole; Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, and Uju Kem-Ohanenye, an Abuja-legal practitioner and the only female aspirant, also announced their decision to step down for Tinubu.

Other aspirants who have addressed the delegates at the extraordinary convention included Tinubu himself; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Senior Pastor, Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare; Rochas Okorocha, former Imo State governor; Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State; and Sani Yerima, former Zamfara State Governor.

Others include Yahya Bello, Governor of Kogi State; Dave Umahi, Governor of Ebonyi State; Ken Nnamani, former president of the Senate; Ikeobasi Mokelu, former Minister of Information; immediate past Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu; oil magnate, Tein Jack-Rich and US-based pastor, Felix Nicholas, who announced that he was stepping down for Osinbajo.

Only Emeka Nwajiuba, immediate past Minister of State for Education, failed to address the delegates.

President Muhammadu Buhari later addressed the gathering. He called on APC members to be united and asked contestants to be magnanimous in victory.