Despite recent happenings in the political setting, President Bola Tinubu will not drop Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential elections.
A source who spoke on the matter assured that Tinubu and Shettima would fly a joint ticket in 2027 just as they did in the 2023 elections.
The assurance was given by an insider from the Aso Rock Presidential Villa who spoke to ThisDay and dismissed rumours that President Tinubu has plans to drop Shettima for the 2027 elections.
Naija News reports that he added that there is no fear about the political future of Shettima and also boasted that the APC would cruise to victory in the 2027 elections.
“The president will run with Shettima. You can file it away. Stop worrying about the rumour. He will,” the source declared on Sunday.
The official added, “We (the APC) are winning the next election is all I know. Walahi!”
It would be recalled that speculations about Tinubu dropping Shettima as his running mate heightened during an APC stakeholders meeting in Gombe State, where the APC North-east zonal leadership endorsed Tinubu for a second term but pointedly omitted Shettima’s name.
Speaking at the event, APC National Vice Chairman for North-east, Mustapha Saliu, who led the endorsement, praised Tinubu but made no reference to the vice president, thus incuring the wrath of the delegates.
“We have no business not supporting this party with all the juicy appointments and responsibilities given to us by this government. We want to reaffirm and adopt the endorsement earlier done by the National Working Committee that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is endorsed to be sole candidate for the 2027 election,” Saliu said.
This led to chaos at the event as angry delegates hurled insults, chairs, and objects at the podium, forcing security operatives to whisk him away.
The APC at various other fora attempted to repair the damage by maintaining that the Tinubu/Shettima presidency is a single ticket and, at other times, adding that President Tinubu would reveal his running mate at the right time.
Based on the happenings, there have been suggestions that there may be a division in the APC leading to the 2027 polls.
Despite this, the insider maintained that Tinubu and Shettima will run together in 2027 and the APC will win.
Naija News recalls that during Shettima’s birthday, Tinubu declared that he has no regret working with him and made no mistake choosing him as his running mate.