The National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, says President Bola Tinubu has received overwhelming support from party stakeholders for a second-term bid in 2027. However, discussions regarding his running mate have not yet commenced.
Basiru, a former Senate spokesman, noted that the selection of Tinubu’s running mate will only take place after the party’s national convention, typically held about a year before the general election.
“As far as we are concerned, the national summit held at the Presidential Villa endorsed Mr. President based on his performance and the broad support he enjoys within the party,” Basiru said during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday. “The question of a running mate is not currently under consideration, and there has been no indication that the president has made any decisions affecting the current vice president.”
Tensions surfaced on Sunday, June 15, 2025, at an APC stakeholders’ summit in Gombe State for the North-East geopolitical zone, when APC North-East Vice Chairman Mustapha Salihu declared Tinubu the party’s sole candidate for 2027—without referencing Vice President Kashim Shettima. The omission sparked protests from some attendees who demanded that Shettima, a North-Easterner, also be explicitly endorsed.
Basiru, who was present at the event, downplayed the incident, saying divergent opinions are normal in a democracy.
“As far as I’m concerned, there was no issue,” he said. “I was physically present in Gombe. After the summit, there was a reception at the Government House. Some felt endorsing the president alone was sufficient, while others believed the vice president, being from the region, should have also been acknowledged.”
He emphasized that under APC procedures, only the presidential candidate is selected at the national convention. The running mate, he added, is usually determined afterward.
“Our party has not made any official pronouncement or taken a position regarding the politics of the North-East,” Basiru said.
In the 2023 election, Tinubu ran on a joint ticket with Shettima, a former Borno State governor. The pair won and were sworn into office on May 29, 2023.
Most recently, on May 22, 2025, 22 APC governors unanimously endorsed Tinubu as the party’s flagbearer for the 2027 election—again, without mentioning Shettima. That silence has fueled speculation.
Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South, however, dissociated himself from the endorsement, cautioning against premature declarations. He referenced former President Goodluck Jonathan, who despite securing endorsements from 22 PDP governors ahead of the 2015 election, lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
“I pity Tinubu,” Ndume remarked. “Endorsements don’t always translate into electoral victory.”
