Tinubu To Discard Shettima, Considers Kwankwaso as Possible Running Mate for 2027, Insiders Reveal

Tinubu Discard Shettima, Considers Kwankwaso as Possible Running Mate for 2027, Insiders Reveal

 

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is considering former Kano State governor, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, as a possible running mate, potentially replacing Vice President Kashim Shettim

 

Insiders in Abuja say Tinubu’s political camp has begun quietly courting Kwankwaso, the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), with a view to bringing him back into the APC fold ahead of the next general elections.

 

Tinubu’s strategists believe that Kwankwaso’s wide influence in the North—particularly through the Kwankwasiyya political movement—could prove pivotal to securing re-election.

“Kwankwaso is being seriously considered. He has already met with the President, and conversations are ongoing,” a source told BusinessDay on condition of anonymity. “He has the grassroots appeal and northern support that could be critical to President Tinubu’s re-election.

The same source pointed to recent political signals suggesting internal shifts within the APC, including the notable silence of the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, during a key stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe State. Ganduje, a longtime political rival of Kwankwaso, notably refrained from publicly endorsing Vice President Shettima—a move observers interpret as a deliberate attempt to keep options open.

 

Kwankwaso, who served as Minister of Defence and represented Kano Central in the Senate, commands a strong following across Nigeria’s North-West. In 2023, his NNPP secured control of Kano State, the second-largest voting bloc in the country with nearly six million registered voters.

 

While the NNPP finished fourth in the 2023 presidential race, Tinubu’s advisers are banking on Kwankwaso’s grassroots appeal to consolidate the APC’s base in the North, where political loyalties remain fluid and competitive.

 

The president’s recalibration comes amid mounting pressure from a united opposition. Talks are reportedly ongoing between key opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, to form a new political alliance aimed at challenging Tinubu in 2027.

 

The proposed coalition, named the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), has already begun the process of registering with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). A 15-member Platform Committee has been constituted to lead the charge after efforts to merge into an existing political party failed.

 

Prominent political figures backing the ADA initiative include former Senate President David Mark; ex-governors John Odigie-Oyegun, Rauf Aregbesola, Nasir El-Rufai, and Aminu Tambuwal; as well as former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, and former Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.