A former political adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Mr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed concern over the president’s silence on rumours suggesting he plans to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of the 2027 election.
Despite the election being two years away, rumours have circulated about an alleged plot to drop Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate.
In a June interview, presidential Spokesperson Bayo Onanuga dismissed the claim as a “non-issue,” saying that President Tinubu would choose his running mate only after accepting the All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination.
However, Baba-Ahmed, who resigned from his position in the Tinubu administration about three months ago, said the President should have personally debunked the rumour if it was truly a “non-issue.”
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Baba-Ahmed said, “I would be very curious to find out what it is that makes all these stories about dropping him (Shettima).
”I think, somewhere along the line, to be honest, the President should have done something a long time ago.”
He emphasised that if the rumours were baseless, the President should have directly and personally denied them, saying, “Stop this nonsense. I have confidence in my Vice President, I work well with him, I am happy with him, and I want this nonsense about me dropping him, now or in the future, to stop.”
Baba-Ahmed stressed that the President’s silence on the matter was worrying and that he should have found a way to directly and emphatically deny the rumours.
He added, “If what I have said is exactly what the President thinks, he should have said it. If he doesn’t say it the way I have, he should have found a way, but it should come from him – it should be direct and it must be emphatic.”
The rumours surrounding Shettima’s potential replacement have raised concerns about the stability and unity within the APC.
As a former adviser to the President, Baba-Ahmed’s comments highlighted the need for clarity and transparency in the party’s leadership.
The President’s response to these rumours would likely have implications for the party’s dynamics and the 2027 election.
