The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as “purely speculative, untrue, and utterly baseless” claims suggesting that Vice President Kashim Shettima may be replaced as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
There is speculation in the media that the ruling party may review the Muslim–Muslim ticket that secured victory in the 2023 presidential election.
However, in a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the party said its attention had been drawn to a “growing media frenzy” over an alleged plan to substitute the Vice President.
“While these stories have been mostly subtle, they recently assumed a new dimension when names of specific individuals were touted as possible replacements for Vice President Shettima,” the statement said.
The APC warned the media against giving space to unverified reports, urging them to avoid promoting what it described as rumours designed to cause division.
“Our party states in categorical terms that the stories are purely speculative, untrue, and utterly baseless.
“We urge media organizations to refrain from lending their platforms to rumor-peddlers and mischievous ‘news sources’ of questionable provenance whose only intention is to promote discord and confusion in the polity,” the statement added.
The ruling party also mentioned that political activities remain restricted under existing laws and electoral regulations, stressing that it is not engaged in succession discussions at this time.
“Under our laws and electoral regulations, the ban on political activities remains in force,” Morka said, adding that the party is currently focused on governance.
“At this time, our party remains focused on supporting President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima in delivering the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and entrenching its bold reforms that are now steadily transforming the economy, building prosperity, and uplifting the living conditions of our people,” it said.
The APC also warned its ministers, senior government officials and party leaders against making statements that could fuel unnecessary speculation.
“We call on our ministers, senior government and Party officials to avoid, wittingly or unwittingly, stoking needless speculations, and to focus on their primary duty of diligent service to government and our Party,” the statement added, urging them to bolster “the success and achievements of President Tinubu, our inimitable and visionary leader.”
This comes only hours after Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, cautioned that changing the Bola Tinubu-Kashim Shettima presidential ticket could cost the ruling party critical northern states in 2027.
Musawa delivered the warning on an episode of Mic On Show with journalist Seun Okinbaloye, which was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday.
She stated that removing Shettima from President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ticket, or failing to maintain a northern Muslim running mate, would seriously undermine the APC’s political prospects in the core North.
“If there is no Hausa, Fulani or Kanuri Muslim on that ticket, it creates a hurdle. That is the reality of the way people think,” Musawa said.
According to her, politics in northern Nigeria is deeply shaped by identity, history, and voter mobilization, making the region highly sensitive to changes in political representation.
“The core northern states, like Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Jigawa, Zamfara, and Sokoto, understand politics at a very deep level. Politics is a way of life. People wait every four years to line up and vote because that is where they feel they have influence,” she said.
Musawa dismissed assertions that the APC might replace its presidential ticket without major consequences, noting that such assumptions are based on a misunderstanding of northern political dynamics.
“I think if we toy with changing the construct of what we have now, it is a problem. People who suggest otherwise may not fully understand how politics works in the north,” she said.
