2027 Election: Top Northern Elder Raises Big Concern as Alleged Plot to Dump Shettima Deepens
- Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has criticised President Tinubu's silence over growing rumours that Vice President Shettima may be dropped ahead of the 2027 elections
- Speculation intensified after APC stakeholders endorsed Tinubu in June without mentioning Shettima, raising fears of a potential replacement with another northern candidate
- Baba-Ahmed warned that Tinubu's failure to personally address the issue could hurt the APC’s northern support
A northern elder and former political adviser to the presidency, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed growing concern over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s silence on rumours that Vice President Kashim Shettima may be dropped ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Legit.ng reports that speculation has intensified in political circles, suggesting that Shettima may be replaced with another northern candidate, possibly a Christian, as Tinubu prepares to seek a second term.
Source: Twitter
Recall that the debate gained traction following an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ summit in Gombe in June, where some speakers endorsed Tinubu without making any mention of Shettima.
This, however, has fueled further suspicions of a looming rift.
Baba-Ahmed: Tinubu’s silence is unsettling
Speaking during a live interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Baba-Ahmed said the president should have unequivocally dismissed the rumour if it held no truth.
“I would be very curious to find out what it is that makes all these stories about dropping him (Shettima),” he said.
Furthermore, he noted that:
“To be honest, the president should have done something a long time ago. If all these stories about dropping the vice-president for somebody else, another northern vice-president, maybe a Christian, maybe from somewhere else, have absolutely no iota of truth, it would have taken just one thing: the president directly and personally saying, ‘Stop this nonsense’.”
Presidency dismisses claims as baseless
On Saturday, April 5, Legit.ng reported that Bayo Onanuga, the president’s spokesperson, dismissed the matter as a “non-issue”, insisting that Tinubu would announce his running mate only after the APC’s next convention.
“In a presidential system, the candidate is nominated before selecting a running mate,” Onanuga explained, adding that there is no rift between the president and Shettima.
However, Baba-Ahmed said he believes that a public and personal response from Tinubu would have ended the controversy much earlier.
Northern elder warns of political consequences
Baba-Ahmed, who recently resigned as special adviser on political matters in the Office of the Vice President, said the matter goes beyond political speculation and may carry broader implications for the APC’s northern support base, The Cable reported.
“It’s worrying; let me just say it is worrying. If what I have said is exactly what the president thinks, he should have said it. If he doesn’t say it the way I have, he should have found a way, but it should come from him, it should be direct, and it must be emphatic," he said.
Shettima’s future remains in the balance
Source: Getty Images
While the presidency has sought to wave off the controversy, silence from President Tinubu continues to raise eyebrows among political watchers, particularly in the North, where Shettima remains an influential figure, Leadership reported.
As the 2027 election draws closer, the issue of who emerges as Tinubu’s running mate, should he declare for a second term, may become a defining question in Nigeria’s political landscape.
2027 election: How Atiku can unseat Tinubu
In another development, Legit.ng reported that Dare Glintstone Akinniyi expressed his opinion after Atiku Abubakar insisted that he had not left the PDP amid growing rumours in the polity.
Akinniyi warned that the 2027 election will not be won playing by the old political rules but by building a powerful coalition against the APC.
He urged Atiku to declare his 2027 presidential ambition and unite with Peter Obi, El-Rufai and other aggrieved politicians to defeat the ruling government led by Bola Tinubu.
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Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
