Politics
BREAKING: Tinubu’s 2027 Running Mate Emerges as INEC Fixes Date for Upload
Despite months of speculation and reports of internal disagreements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the vice-presidential slot, Vice President Kashim Shettima has emerged as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sole vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
The development comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) moves closer to its July 11 deadline for political parties to upload the particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through its online nomination portal. The commission has fixed 6:00 p.m. on July 11 as the closing date for the submission of Forms EC9 and other nomination documents.
Shettima’s retention effectively ends weeks of intense political speculation that the APC leadership or influential stakeholders could replace the former Borno State governor amid reported internal power struggles and lobbying ahead of the 2027 election. While the rumours generated widespread debate within political circles, there has been no official announcement by the APC indicating any change to the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.
The vice president had earlier demonstrated his central role in President Tinubu’s re-election bid by personally submitting the president’s APC nomination and expression of interest forms, a move widely interpreted as a signal that the Tinubu-Shettima partnership remained intact ahead of the general election.
With the INEC nomination deadline fast approaching, political parties are racing to complete the upload of candidates’ particulars, while attention has shifted to the confirmation of presidential tickets expected to contest the 2027 election.
Although reports of internal disagreements and calls by some party figures for a different running mate had circulated in recent months, the APC has continued to present Shettima as President Tinubu’s running mate, making him the party’s sole vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential race.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dropped five senatorial candidates from the final list of the party’s candidates forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 elections.
The replaced candidates, including ex-Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue, Taraba North; Mohammed Kabir Bello were declared winners of the primaries which held in May.
Additionally, 19 House of Representatives candidates who emerged victorious in the party’s primary elections were also dropped.
According to the document released by the party, candidates across nine states were affected by the changes.
The states are Kogi, Abia, Benue, Taraba, Ondo, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, and Ebonyi.
In the correspondence sent to the electoral umpire—signed by both the National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru—the party’s national leadership attributed the changes to the report of the Primary Election Appeal Committee.
The affected candidates and their replacements are:
SENATE
Taraba North: Shuaibu Isa Lau replaced Mohammed Kabir Bello.
Kogi West: Senator Sunday Karimi replaced Aro Samuel Bamidele.
Abia South: Prince Paul Ikonne replaced Edinburgh Uchenna Erondu.
Benue North East: Emmanuel Memga Udende replaced Gabriel Suswam.
Benue North West: Titus Tartenger Zam replaced Benjamin T. Aber.
Ondo Central: Adeniyi Adegbonmire replaced Taiwo Fasoranti.
Ondo North: Olajide Ipinsagba replaced Gbenga Elegbeleye.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Benue:
Makurdi/Guma: Dickson Tarkighir replaced Ikper Chris Terfa.
Vandeikya/Konshisha: Sesoo Ikpagher replaced Livinus Tsar Adzor.
Kwande/Ushongo: Terser Ugbor replaced Kohol Shedrach Iornem.
Buruku: Sekav Dzua Iyortyom replaced Gideon Inyom.
Gwer East/Gwer West: Austin Asema Achado replaced Nongo David.
Taraba & Niger:
Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna (Taraba): Peter Abel Diah replaced Sanusi Mohammed Galadima.
Suleja/Tafa/Gurara (Niger): Abubakar Lado Abdullahi substituted Adamu Tanko.
Lavun/Edati/Mokwa (Niger): Adamu Suleiman replaced Adamu Usman.
Kwara:
Ekiti/Irepodun/Oke-Ero: Raheem Tunji Olawuyi replaced Olasumbo Florence Oyeyemi.
Edu/Patigi/Moro: Mohammed Mamman substituted Bello Tauheed Abubakar.
Ondo:
Ilaje/Ese-Odo: Donald Ojogo replaced Akingboye Leke.
Idanre: Festus Olarewaju replaced Rasaq Obe.
Owo/Ose: Oluwatimehin Akintomide replaced Kayode Ijalana.
Okitipupa/Irele: Okunjinmi John Odimayo replaced Olumuyiwa Daramola.
Ondo West/Ondo East: Michel Olamidotun Akintomide substituted Abiola Makinde.
Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo/Odigbo: Festus Ayodele Adefiranye replaced Oyerinmade Matthew.
Kaduna, Abia, Ebonyi:
Kaduna North (Kaduna): Abdulazeez Kaka replaced Samaila Abdu Suleiman.
Ukwa East/Ukwa West (Abia): Samuel Okezie replaced Chris Nkwonta.
Afikpo North/Edda (Ebonyi): Ekumankama Joseph Nkama replaced Iduma Igariwey Enwo.
A senior APC NWC member confirmed the party was at an advanced stage of uploading candidates’ details to the INEC portal Details of President Bola Tinubu and his running mate were expected to be uploaded by midweek Four serving governors had already been uploaded to the INEC portal as the APC manages over 700 petitions from aggrieved members
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is on track to submit its presidential and National Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the July 11, 2027 deadline.
A senior member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), speaking anonymously, confirmed that the uploading process was well advanced, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s details and those of his running mate expected to be submitted to the portal by the middle of this week.
“We are progressing smoothly with the uploading of the details of our National Assembly candidates,” the source said. “We hope that on or before next Wednesday, we shall upload the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. We are completely sure of meeting the July 11 deadline for uploading all our candidates on the INEC portal.”
Checks conducted on Sunday at the party’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department at the Muhammadu Buhari House headquarters in Abuja revealed that the technical team had maintained uninterrupted access to the INEC portal, Nation reported.
Sources within the department disclosed that records for most principal officers of the 10th National Assembly and several incumbent lawmakers were already in the system. Additionally, the profiles of four sitting governors, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state, Hope Uzodimma of Imo state and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state, had been successfully uploaded, Vanguard reported.
Revised candidate list following 700 petitions The submission process follows a review of the party’s primary elections. The NWC removed six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had emerged from the May primaries, acting on recommendations from the party’s Primary Election Appeal Committee. The affected constituencies span Abia, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Niger and Kwara states. A revised list was subsequently forwarded to INEC in a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda and National Secretary Ajibola Basiru.
APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka confirmed the scale of internal grievances following the primaries. “The party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of our shadow elections,” Morka said. Morka declined to give a timeline for the public release of the final candidates’ list, stressing that the party’s immediate attention was firmly on regulatory compliance.
“Our absolute immediate priority right now is ensuring that our designated candidates properly complete and return their Form EC9 nomination documents for upload ahead of the strict INEC deadline, rather than focusing on the public release of the list,” he said.
Despite the adjustments made by the appeal committee, several of the party’s prominent figures retained their tickets, including the four governors already cleared for Senate seats in the 2027 general elections.
Gov Fintiri backs Tinubu
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri threw his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid, describing him as the candidate best positioned to guarantee Nigeria’s stability and see through the country’s ongoing economic reforms. Fintiri made the remarks during a grassroots engagement with All Progressives Congress (APC) executives and stakeholders in Madagali and Michika local government areas of Adamawa state, where he addressed party faithful alongside key party figures.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Niger State and former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, has urged Governor Mohammed Umar Bago to pick a Christian running mate for the 2027 governorship election, warning that the party risks losing support over what he described as the marginalisation of Christians.
Vatsa gave the warning while speaking with journalists in Minna on Saturday, arguing that the APC’s recent primary elections, in which almost all candidates emerged as Muslims, had heightened concerns among members of the Christian community.
He claimed that only one Christian secured the party’s ticket for the State House of Assembly, representing Munya Local Government Area, while all three senatorial candidates, 11 House of Representatives candidates and 26 of the 27 House of Assembly candidates are Muslims.
According to him, Christians have also been largely excluded from political appointments, citing the composition of local government leadership across the state.
The former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism alleged that despite Governor Bago’s public engagement with Christian groups, the pattern of appointments and candidate selection tells a different story.
“It’s not about attending church programmes, singing choruses or making donations. What matters is fairness and inclusion in appointments and elective positions,” he said.
Vatsa argued that choosing a Christian deputy governorship candidate in 2027 would help address the perceived imbalance and strengthen the APC’s chances at the polls.
That is the only way people like us can confidently approach the Christian community to campaign for the party. If an opposition party picks a Christian deputy governor, it could attract sympathy votes,” he said.
Vatsa also maintained that the 2027 elections would be driven more by the credibility of candidates than party platforms.
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