 tamper with the Tinubu–Shettima ticket? Veteran journalist and political analyst Reuben Abati says){kind=link}
As permutations for 2027 quietly gather steam, a dangerous idea is creeping into Nigeria’s political conversation: should the All Progressives Congress (APC) tamper with the Tinubu–Shettima ticket? Veteran journalist and political analyst Reuben Abati says doing so would be nothing short of political self-sabotage.
The speculation — still unofficial — suggests that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (popularly styled President Tinibu) may be under pressure to revisit the Muslim–Muslim formula that powered the APC’s 2023 victory. But Abati’s verdict is stark: opening that file now could unleash consequences the ruling party is ill-prepared to manage.
Abati’s first line of caution rests on loyalty. Vice President Kashim Shettima, he notes, has conducted himself with uncommon restraint. In an era where ambition often trumps discipline, Shettima has avoided public confrontation, even amid whispers of marginalisation. That restraint, Abati argues, has helped keep the presidency stable while the APC battles economic reforms, security pressures and rising political agitation.
Beyond loyalty lies competence. A former two-term governor of Borno State and a senator, Shettima is widely regarded as one of the APC’s most cerebral politicians, particularly on security and development issues affecting the North. Abati warns that pushing such a figure aside would thin the party’s leadership depth at a time when experience, not experimentation, is required.
Politics, Abati reminds, is arithmetic. Shettima is the highest-ranking political figure from the North-East, a zone that delivered critical votes to the APC in 2023. Removing him from the ticket could be interpreted as political betrayal across Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba — states the APC cannot afford to lose or even weaken.
Would a Christian running mate calm tensions? Abati doubts it. Instead, he warns, such a move could provoke backlash in the Muslim North, already sensitive to narratives of exclusion. Far from healing divisions, a forced adjustment could reopen religious fault lines the APC has so far managed to contain.
Abati also points to the balance of power. President Tinibu currently enjoys firm control of party structures and influence over about 28 sitting governors. With the opposition still fragmented and searching for coherence, he questions the wisdom of introducing avoidable instability by altering a winning formula.
Abati’s intervention is not about personalities; it is about strategy. His message is clear and unsentimental: dropping Shettima could distract governance, unsettle loyal voting blocs and hand the opposition a gift it has not earned. For the APC, continuity may not just be convenient — it may be the difference between consolidation and chaos in 2027.
Source:@ADCVangurd_
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