Amid mounting rumours of a schism between President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Ismaeel Ahmed has categorically denied any plan to replace the Vice President in the 2027 presidential campaign.
This follows the APC North-East conference in Gombe, which ended in a disturbance after the party’s National Vice Chairman (North-East) approved President Tinubu for a second term without naming Vice President Shettima.
Speaking during an interview, the former member of the APC Board of Trustees described the claims as “malicious rumours” and insisted there was no substance to the reports suggesting discontent between the two top leaders.
“The speculation is not true. I know it very well. Who is ever in a 100 per cent relationship with anyone? There is trust between President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima. We are trying to create an issue where there is none,” Ahmed said on Tuesday.
“All of these, as far as I am concerned, are rumours, absolutely rumours. I am absolutely aware there is no discussion about substituting the Vice President.
There is no discussion about the vice president being blocked.
“Those are all malicious rumours by people who probably don’t understand what’s going on in the presidency or don’t know how the presidency works.”
Ahmed urged party members and Nigerians to focus on governance rather than political distractions, adding that the administration still has a significant part of its mandate to deliver.
“We have a mandate from the people for four years. Two years have passed; we have one year to the primaries and two to the general elections. For God’s sake, we are a government in office, a party in government. That means we are supposed to obey the rules of INEC at a minimum. “Let’s focus on governing,” he stated.
“There are so many things we are doing right—let’s espouse them. We need to communicate with the people effectively. That should be the focus of the party and the government. Anything other than that is a distraction.”
Addressing the controversy during the show, Ahmed clarified that the endorsement did not signal internal friction but reflected APC traditions and the broader structure of national politics.
“We have a culture in the APC, and that culture is that the sitting president is not challenged; he is going to have his second-term ticket if he wants it,” the chieftain explained.
