A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Haruna Yerima, has warned the ruling party will dig its own grave by replacing Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement he issued in Abuja on Sunday, the don said those canvassing for a change of the present status quo are the same elements who fought tooth and nail against the Tinubu/Shettima ticket in 2023.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that tempering with the Tinubu/Shettima presidential ticket would not augur well for the APC in 2027 general elections,” the former House of Representatives member, said.
The university teacher said, “It is appalling that those who never believed the Tinubu/Shettima ticket would deliver victory in 2023 are now working round the clock to change it. They should be stopped now. Else, the ruling party will suffer its greatest defeat in 2027.”
Professor Yerima said the advocates of tinkering with the Tinubu/Shetima ticket, by imposing a Christian from the North-Central or North-West zones are not just short-sighted, but are politically naive.
He said the North-Central zone is fully compensated and taken care of with several Grade A federal appointments. “The North-Central and the North-West zones that are canvassing for the 2027 Vice Presidential ticket is fully rewarded with prominent appointments that include that of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Minister of Defence, the National Chairman of APC, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL), the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), among others,” he said.
The professor also dismissed insinuations by fifth columnists that the Christian genocide canvassed by President Donald Trump is the key factor deepening the need for altering the Tinubu/Shettima ticket in 2027. “It is a fallacy that United States President would determine who Nigerian Vice President should be. This is the handiwork of political jobbers and fifth columnists,” the APC chieftain said.
Professor Yerima said Kashim Shettima has been very dutiful and loyal to President Bola Tinubu. “It is on records that Senator Kashim Shettima has been a very loyal and competent deputy to President Tinubu. He is not noisy. Even his political detractors can’t deny he is a competent powerhouse with strong intellectual capabilities. His political antecedents are legendary,” the former lawmaker said.
It would be recalled that the Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, recently raised an alarm over the exclusion of Kashim Shettima’s picture on the banner portraying party leaders in the region during the North East Governors and APC stakeholders held in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.
This happened at a time some elements were dropping names of former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, as likely successors to Mr Shettima.
