The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu again regarding the vice president, Kashim Shettima, and his 2027 second-term ambition.

In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele warned Tinubu not to drop Shettima as his running mate because it will cost him heavily.

He noted that even if the VP offends the president, he should try and settle it for his own good because it will be a huge minus if he tries to drop him as a running mate ahead of the 2027 election.

He made it known that an attempt to bring another person on board would destroy his chances and bring unnecessary enemies to him.

“Dropping Shettima will cause trouble for you; those who want him out are your enemies who don’t want you to succeed. Anything that Shettima might have done, forget it, and let’s move the country forward.”

“If you remove Shettima, it’s a minus for you; don’t remove him if you still want to maintain your chances. There are things you need to settle between yourself and Shettima, settle with him and let him remain if not, it will be a serious minus to your government.”

The prophet stated that Shettima is harmless to Tinubu and that the president will still face challenges in the north, explaining that Emirs will gang up against him.

“Don’t go and get another person who will destroy your government. Shettima is harmless; you will still face challenges and counter-challenges in the north. The Emirs will gang up against you; you need to work on them. You need to do extra work; the election won’t come by easily.”

The prophet further revealed that America won’t support President Tinubu’s second-term ambition and will do everything to see him removed from power. He urged the president to avoid self-inflicted problems by solving the issues of hunger and security.

“Also, make sure you sort out the issue of international communities, like I said, America isn’t your friend, America is desperate to remove you; they will do everything to see you out of power.”

He stated that there are people who can defeat Tinubu, and even though none of them have openly shown interest yet, if they do, with the situation on the ground, they will defeat the president.

“I am not in support of anyone. If anyone comes out to contest and can defeat you, I will tell you, but I have not seen it yet. However, you need to work very hard because if the person comes out with the situation on the ground, you will have issues.”

“Shettima isn’t your problem, but hunger in the country and other factors. If you don’t fix them, removing anybody from your government or adding anyone will not do you any good.

“You should also work on security, you can win terrorist s, they are within Nigeria.”

As the 2027 election approaches, early political activities are heating up, especially with the emergence of the ADC coalition to challenge the ruling APC

However, the AI analysis offers context and caveats, suggesting the current prediction could still change

ChatGPT, the popular conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, has projected that Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, remains a strong contender for the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Asked by Legit to predict who will win the ADC’s ticket for the 2027 presidential election, ChatGPT picked Atiku; Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election; and Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers; as the “key potential contenders”.

ChatGPT unveiled Atiku as the ADC’s likeliest nominee, citing the Adamawa-born politician’s “experience and reach”, adding that “there is a brewing debate within ADC over zoning, particularly between northern and southern political interests”.

With its choice, the machine intelligence decided against choosing Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, in its three-man nomination.

With the exception of Atiku and Amaechi, Obi and El-Rufai have yet to formally become a member of the ADC.

Legit.ng reports that ChatGPT’s inclusion of Amaechi may have been informed by the former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain’s announcement in June that he would be running for president in the 2027 election.

At the time, Amaechi accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of subjecting Nigerians to unprecedented economic hardship, forcing the opposition to form a coalition to challenge the president in the 2027 presidential election.

As the 2027 elections approach, the opposition’s adoption of the ADC, and the high-level appointments that come with it, could reshape Nigeria’s political dynamics and intensify the contest for power.

The newly-formed coalition has yet to say which region it would zone the presidency but it is expected to be a strong challenger to President Tinubu, who is touted to seek a second term in office.

The opposition figures appeared united in their mission. In July, a report said the major anti-Tinubu coaliton members have agreed to enter a concrete agreement to support whoever transparently emerges as the ADC’s flagbearer.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has released the final list of political parties and candidates cleared to contest the August 30 local government elections, with 16 parties given the green light.

The Chairman of the RSIEC, Michael Odey, in a statement, explained that the list followed a screening exercise held at the commission’s headquarters along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, between Friday, August 8, and Tuesday, August 12, in line with the revised election timetable

Beyond the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress, other cleared parties include the Labour Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Zenith Party, Accord Party, African Action Congress, Action People’s Party, and the Social Democratic Party.

Others are the Action Alliance, Youth Party, Young Progressive Party, Action Democratic Party, New Nigerian People’s Party, African Democratic Party, National Rescue Movement, and the Allied People’s Party.

The PDP fielded only three chairmanship candidates, while the APC presented 20 chairmanship candidates across the state’s 23 LGAs.

The PDP candidates are Gift Worlu for Obio/Akpor, home LGA of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike,  Allwell Ihunda for Port Harcourt City LGA, and Chukwu Ogbugu for Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.

The APC candidates, mostly loyalists of Wike and many of whom previously served as LGA chairmen during his tenure as governor, include Confidence Deko for Gokana LGA, Chidi Lloyd for Emohua LGA, Obari Ollormate for Eleme LGA, Akuro Tobins for Okrika LGA, and Thomas Bari-ara, among others.

It was observed that the Labour Party and 14 other parties did not field candidates for all chairmanship and councillorship positions in the 23 LGAs.

Meanwhile, the RSIEC Chairman urged political parties and their candidates to check the commission’s headquarters for the posted names.

Speaking at an interactive session with civil society organisations, Odey sought their collaboration, as well as that of security agencies, to ensure a credible poll.