Shettima says Atiku lacks political strength to challenge Tinubu in 2027
Vice President Kashim Shettima has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lacks the political support to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Shettima spoke on Thursday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, where he questioned Atiku’s political influence, particularly in his home state of Adamawa.
He argued that Atiku’s inability to win the backing of political leaders in Adamawa cast doubt on his chances at the national level. “If you cannot control your own state, if you are not relevant in your home base, how can you tell others to elect you?” he asked.
Shettima named former Adamawa governors Bindow Jibrilla, Murtala Nyako, Boni Haruna and Bala Ngilari, alongside incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, saying they were all supporting Tinubu’s re-election instead of Atiku.
He also took a swipe at the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing its poor showing in the recent Ekiti and Osun governorship elections. He noted that the party’s candidate in the 2026 Ekiti election secured about 12,000 votes and predicted that the APC would win between 90 and 95 per cent of the votes in the state in 2027.
The vice president thanked Ekiti residents for re-electing Governor Biodun Oyebanji in the June 20 governorship election, where the APC candidate won 85.7 per cent of the votes. He also listed federal projects in the state, including road reconstruction and the establishment of the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences in Iyin-Ekiti.
Other APC leaders at the rally, including National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Senator Abdulaziz Yari, called on residents to support Tinubu’s second-term bid. Oyebanji also expressed confidence that Ekiti would deliver at least 80 per cent of registered voters to the President.
In a notable development, the 2026 governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and Allied Peoples Movement, Wole Oluyede and Joseph Anifowoshe, respectively, declared support for Tinubu’s re-election. Oluyede said Oyebanji’s performance and the Federal Government’s support for the state had helped bring political leaders together across party lines.
