By Obinna Uballa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed reports suggesting that Vice President Kashim Shettima may be replaced as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing the claims as “purely speculative, untrue and utterly baseless.”
The ruling party was responding to growing media speculation that it may reconsider the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket that secured victory in the 2023 election.
In a statement issued on Monday, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party’s attention had been drawn to what he described as a “growing media frenzy” over an alleged plan to substitute the Vice President.
“While these stories have been mostly subtle, they recently assumed a new dimension with the naming of specific individuals as possible replacements for Vice President Shettima,” Morka said.
He warned media organisations against amplifying unverified claims, accusing unnamed sources of deliberately pushing rumours capable of creating internal division and political tension.
“Our Party states in categorical terms that the stories are purely speculative, untrue and utterly baseless,” the statement said.
“We urge media organisations to refrain from lending their platforms to rumour-peddlers and mischievous ‘news sources’ of questionable provenance whose only intention is to promote discord and confusion in the polity.”
The APC also stressed that it is not engaged in any succession or ticket-reshuffling discussions, noting that political activities remain restricted under existing laws and electoral regulations.
“Under our laws and electoral regulations, the ban on political activities remains in force,” Morka said.
He added that the party’s current priority is governance, not electioneering.
“At this time, our Party remains focused on supporting President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima in delivering the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and entrenching bold reforms that are steadily transforming the economy, building prosperity and improving the living conditions of Nigerians,” the statement said.
The ruling party further cautioned its ministers, senior government officials and party leaders against making statements that could fuel unnecessary speculation.
“We call on our ministers, senior government and Party officials to avoid, wittingly or unwittingly, stoking needless speculation, and to focus on their primary duty of diligent service to government and our Party,” Morka said, urging them to strengthen public confidence in “the success and achievements of President Tinubu, our inimitable and visionary leader.”
The APC’s intervention came after the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, warned that the party risks losing key northern states in 2027 if it alters the Tinubu–Shettima ticket.
The New Diplomat had reported that Musawa made the remarks during an episode of Mic On Show with journalist Seun Okinbaloye, published on YouTube on Sunday.
She argued that dropping Shettima or abandoning a northern Muslim running mate would significantly weaken the APC’s electoral standing in the core North.
“If there is no Hausa, Fulani or Kanuri Muslim on that ticket, it creates a hurdle. That is the reality of the way people think,” Musawa said.
According to her, politics in northern Nigeria is deeply shaped by identity, history and voter mobilisation, making the region particularly sensitive to changes in political representation.
“The core north states – Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto – understand politics at a very deep level. Politics is a way of life. People wait every four years to line up and vote because that is where they feel they have influence,” she said.
Musawa dismissed suggestions that the APC could reshuffle its presidential ticket without serious consequences, warning that such assumptions betray a poor understanding of northern political dynamics.
“I think if we toy with changing the construct of what we have now, it is a problem. People who suggest otherwise may not fully understand how politics works in the north,” she said.
