The North-Central forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected plans to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate ahead of the 2027 general election, warning that such a step would amount to a grave political miscalculation.
The APC forum’s position was contained in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by its chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, following reports that some persons within the ruling party were pushing for Shettima’s replacement.
The speculation was fuelled after the vice president’s photograph was omitted from a banner bearing images of APC leaders in the Northeast during the party’s zonal public hearing on the amendment of its constitution in Maiduguri.
The banner featured Tinubu, five APC governors from the zone, and the party’s National Legal Adviser.
The development has renewed debate about the sustainability of the APC’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027, as well as Shettima’s political future. Some members of the party have reportedly urged for his replacement by a Christian from the North.
Some groups, particularly in the North-Central region, have asked that Tinubu’s running mate in the next election be a Christian from the area.
However, the North-Central APC Forum cautioned that removing Shettima would be bad for the party and might jeopardize President Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
The Forum also stated that the North-Central area is not interested in running for vice president but rather in running for president in 2031, after Tinubu’s term ends.
The forum warned against incorporating religious sentiment into political calculations, arguing that the North currently lacks a Christian candidate with enough grassroots support, national appeal, and political structure to supplement Tinubu’s electoral power as a running partner.
It argued that abandoning the Muslim-Muslim ticket will only increase the opposition by 2027.
“There is serious danger in changing a winning ticket. We totally and unequivocally reject calls and plans to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate in the next election.
“We sincerely advise President Bola Tinubu and the leaders of the party not to listen to such calls, because such a decision will turn out to be a grievous political miscalculation,” the forum stated.
The Forum also accused those behind the agitation of acting against the interests of the party and the president.
“They do not want to see President Bola Tinubu re-elected. That is the only reason anybody with political knowledge would make such a request,” the statement said.
After analyzing voting patterns in the North, the Forum concluded that Tinubu would not gain any new votes by replacing Shettima. Instead, it warned that dismissing him based on religious grounds would result in a loss of regional support and votes.
It further stated that if the opposition alliance led by the African Democratic Congress nominates Peter Obi as its presidential candidate, removing Shettima will have no strategic impact because many minorities in the North would still vote for Obi regardless of Tinubu’s running partner.
The Forum encouraged the President to maintain the status quo and keep Shettima in order to improve his chances in 2027.
It argued that people asking for change did not support Tinubu in 2023 and would not vote for him in 2027, even if he agreed to their demands.
“If you check, you will notice that in 2023, most of their communities voted for Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
“Now if Peter Obi comes out again in 2027 on the platform of the ADC, what is the guarantee they will vote for Tinubu even if he drops Shettima and replaces him with a Christian? That is not going to happen.
“What is likely is that Tinubu will lose support among core northerners, thereby reducing his votes and giving the advantage to Peter Obi. Basic political calculation shows that dropping Shettima makes no sense and is actually very dangerous,” the statement said.
The Forum also rejected claims that foreign forces, particularly the United States and other Western countries, would persuade Nigeria to abandon the Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2027.
It stressed that Nigeria is a sovereign country that should not succumb to external pressures.
