Despite the Presidency stating that President Bola Tinubu will choose his running mate for the 2027 presidential poll after the All Progressives Congress convention, the battle for the coveted Vice President slot has continued to rage on.
This comes less than two weeks after the APC North-East stakeholders meeting, which had been convened to endorse Tinubu for 2027, ended in chaos.
APC members, believed to be supporters of Vice President Kashim Shettima, had during the stakeholders meeting thrown chairs at the APC Vice Chairman, North-East, Mustapha Salihu, for failing to endorse the VP as Tinubu’s running mate during his speech.
Salihu later clarified why Shettima was not endorsed, explaining that doing so would have meant that Tinubu had already chosen his running mate for the 2027 election.
“It would have been inappropriate to endorse the Vice President along with the President because it would pre-assume that he is the running mate,” Salihu said on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The Presidency and APC sources had said there were ongoing political permutations that could compel the President to drop his VP for another running mate.
No fewer than four northern governors, two each from the North-East and North-West, and two principal officers in the 10th National Assembly, are reported to be eyeing the VP’s seat.
Also, there are speculations that the President may be considering running with a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, a Christian from Bauchi State, a move aimed at religious balancing.
According to multiple party sources, the idea of picking a Christian from the North Central for 2027 is slim following fears that it could affect the party’s chances in the densely populated North West and North East.
“The feeling is that picking a Christian as running mate from North Central may affect the party’s votes in the North West and North East, where they may vote massively for the opposition,” one of our sources said.
At the last presidential election, Tinubu polled 2,652, 235 (41.0%) to emerge triumphant in the North West but lost the North East to ‘homeboy’ Atiku Abubakar in the North East. Atiku claimed 1,741,846 as against 933,176 by Tinubu.
With the President polling 1,760,993 in North Central, claiming four states in the process, to top the charts in 2023, party stalwarts feel he enjoys the support of the region.
However, further findings have shown that the battle for Tinubu’s running mate stems from the bigger war of who succeeds the President when he completes his term in 2031.
According to top and credible APC chieftains, the battle is primarily among top APC bigwigs of northern extraction, who are seeking to succeed Tinubu after his second term ends in 2031.
“What the media does not know is that the battle about who becomes Tinubu’s running mate during the APC convention is the battle of who will succeed him,” a top source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said.
Corroborating this, a top APC chieftain, who is familiar with the tussle for Shettima’s office, further explained, “Those who are jostling to replace the VP as Tinubu’s running mate in 2027 are top APC heavyweights from the North in the present government who are also nursing the ambition to succeed the President in 2031.
“They know that the APC is returning power to the North in 2031. So, they feel that if the VP is allowed to do a second term with Tinubu, he will have an edge over other candidates from the North during the APC primaries for the 2031 presidential poll. So, they believe whoever becomes the VP during Tinubu’s second term will have a better chance to succeed him.”
Also interested in Tinubu’s running mate race is a top official in Tinubu’s cabinet who is from the North-East. It is believed that the President may be favourably disposed to having the APC chieftain (name withheld) succeed him, with some APC chieftains pushing to have him run with Tinubu in 2027.
The PUNCH