President Bola Tinubu on Friday formally tapped Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election, moving to end weeks of speculation that he might replace his deputy.
Tinubu submitted Shettima’s name as part of his nomination paperwork in Abuja, handing the forms to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee, according to a post on X from Sunday Dare, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications.
The announcement quells reports that elements within the ruling party had pushed for a change.
Some APC figures—particularly in the North East, where Shettima draws his political base—had declined to endorse him, and political operatives had floated the possibility that President Tinubu would name a northern Christian to the ticket in an effort to broaden his political appeal ahead of elections.
NewsQuest reports that by reappointing Shettima, President Tinubu preserves the current regional balance of his ticket and sidesteps a potentially divisive controversy within the party as it prepares for campaigns.
