Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, and former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr. Yemi Farounbi, have both raised concerns over speculations that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso might replace Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate in the 2027 general elections.
The two elder statesmen, speaking separately to The Guardian in Ibadan, reacted to growing reports that the National Leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) may be brought into the All Progressives Congress (APC) to run on a joint ticket with Tinubu.
Both men described such a move as potentially dangerous, warning of political and electoral consequences, especially in Nigeria’s Northeast region.
According to Shittu, bringing Kwankwaso into the APC should be for support, not replacement.
“His coming to the APC is to support our president. He should not come to replace anyone. It will be dangerous to replace Rabiu Kwankwaso with Shettima. It will affect our votes in the North East. Kwankwaso can be supported to become President in 2031, not to replace Shettima.”
Farounbi, meanwhile, expressed concern over the implications of working with someone like Kwankwaso, whom he described as politically ambitious and unlikely to take a subordinate role.
“Shettima is more controllable than Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso will not take a back seat in terms of governance, because he has presidential ambitions. Shettima is far better for Tinubu than Kwankwaso. I will say it is dangerous to replace Shettima with Kwankwaso,” the former ambassador stated.
The remarks come amid ongoing internal political alignments ahead of the 2027 general election, with Tinubu’s party exploring strategies to retain power.
However, both commentators believe that any decision to alter the current power dynamic within the presidency could carry unintended consequences.
