The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that while President Bola Tinubu enjoys strong backing from party leaders to contest the 2027 presidential election, the matter of selecting his running mate remains undecided.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, clarified that the choice of vice-presidential candidate will not be addressed until the party holds its national convention— typically scheduled around a year before the general elections.
Mr Basiru, a former Senate spokesperson, stated that Mr Tinubu received broad support from APC stakeholders during a recent national summit at the Presidential Villa, which cited the president’s performance as justification for his re-election bid.
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“The president’s endorsement came from a wide array of party leaders who are impressed with his record,” Mr Basiru said.
“However, discussions around a running mate have not yet begun, and no decision has been made that would affect the position of the current vice president.”
Tensions flared on 15 June 2025, during an APC stakeholders’ summit in Gombe State for members from the North-East geopolitical zone.
Chaos erupted when the party’s North-East Vice Chairman, Mustapha Salihu, declared Mr Tinubu as the sole candidate without mentioning Vice President Kashim Shettima—a move that drew backlash from some party members demanding his inclusion in the endorsement.
Mr Basiru, who attended the Gombe summit, dismissed the incident as a typical outcome of democratic disagreement.
“There was no crisis. After the summit, we even had a reception at the Government House,” he said.
“Some attendees believed endorsing the president alone was enough, while others felt that, given the summit’s location in the North-East, the vice president, who hails from the region— should also have been recognised.”
He added that under APC procedures, only the presidential candidate emerges at the national convention, with the selection of a running mate finalised thereafter.
“As far as the party is concerned, we haven’t issued any official position on the North-East political dynamics,” he noted.
In the 2023 elections, Mr Tinubu ran alongside Mr Shettima, the former governor of Borno State.
Their joint ticket secured victory, and both were inaugurated on 29 May 2023.
More recently, on 22 May 2025, 22 APC governors declared their support for Mr Tinubu’s second-term bid.
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However, their statement, like others, made no mention of the current vice president.
Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South publicly distanced himself from the endorsement, cautioning that a similar scenario played out in 2015 when former President Goodluck Jonathan received backing from 22 PDP governors but still lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
