North-Central APC Forum Warns Tinubu: Dropping Shettima in 2027 Could Cost 80% of Northern Muslim Votes
The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has issued a strong caution to President Bola Tinubu, warning that he risks losing as much as 80 percent of northern Muslim votes in 2027 if he succumbs to mounting pressure to abandon the Muslim-Muslim ticket and drop Vice President Kashim Shettima.
PulseNets learnt that the warning was contained in a statement released in Abuja on Saturday by the Forum’s Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, who was a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election.
Tinubu Faces Pressure Over 2027 Running Mate
Ahead of the 2027 presidential contest, various groups and stakeholders have been urging Tinubu to replace Shettima with a Christian candidate. According to those pushing this line, the Muslim-Muslim ticket that worked in 2023 will be politically unsellable in 2027.
PulseNets recalls that the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum, led by Dominic Alancha, recently spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today where it openly warned Tinubu against repeating the same strategy. Alancha argued that the Muslim-Muslim ticket cost the APC votes in key states such as Nasarawa, Plateau, and even the Federal Capital Territory during the last presidential election. He further told PulseNets that the party stands to lose even more ground in the North, particularly in the Middle Belt, if Tinubu insists on repeating the model.
North-Central APC Forum Counters Opposition
In a sharp rebuttal, the North-Central APC Forum maintained that the Muslim-Muslim ticket was purely a winning electoral strategy and never intended to sideline Christians or other faiths.
“The Muslim-Muslim ticket will not affect President Bola Tinubu’s chances in the Middle Belt, which is part of the North-Central and this is because of the key positions held by Middle Belt christians in the APC government. We can guarantee that Tinubu will get 90 percent of the votes from the North-Central,” the statement said.
The Forum stressed that with influential Middle Belt Christians such as APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, already holding pivotal positions, Tinubu’s chances in the region remain secure.
They advised the President to maintain the “winning team” that delivered victory in 2023 rather than taking what they described as a “needless risk.”
Obi Factor and Christian Vote Dynamics
The Forum further argued that those calling for a change in the ticket did not vote for Tinubu in 2023 and will still not back him in 2027, even if he drops Shettima.
Parts of the statement read:
“Those that are calling on President Bola Tinubu to change Vice President Kashim Shettima, basing their agitation on the Muslim-Muslim ticket, if you check, you will notice that in 2023, most of their communities voted for Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
“Now if Peter Obi is to come out again in 2027, as expected, what is the guarantee that they will vote for Tinubu even if he is to drop Shettima and replace him with a Christian? Does it mean that these people will now leave Peter Obi and vote for Tinubu?”
According to the Forum, the agitation is being driven by political mischief-makers who are only interested in weakening Tinubu’s reelection bid.
The Forum also spoke to PulseNets about what it described as a dangerous trend by certain individuals close to the President who are focusing political mobilization only on northern Christians while allegedly sidelining Muslim communities.
“Another issue that we want to bring to Mr President’s attention is there are people close to him – we will not mention their names but they know themselves. They are going about in different communities in the North, giving money to some communities while excluding others all in the name of asking northern Christian communities to vote for Tinubu. But while they are doing that they are alienating and marginalizing northern Muslim communities. This is counter productive and it will backfire eventually and we don’t want Mr President to suffer because of the poor decisions of these people who are close to him.
“Now these people who are concentrating on northern Christians should consider this – what if the 2023 scenario repeats itself in 2027 with Peter Obi also contesting and President Tinubu now loses both Christian and Muslim votes? What if the Christian communities again vote for Obi and the Muslim communities who are now being neglected also refuse to vote for Tinubu?”
The Forum insisted that the safest political path for Tinubu is to keep Shettima as running mate.
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“Our sincere advise for Mr President is that he should maintain the status quo that produced him. We are not in support of calls for President Tinubu to change the Vice President. Changing Kashim Shettima will not bear any positive fruit in the election because, looking at the results of the 2023 election, all the Christian dominated areas in the North voted for Peter Obi and we don’t expect a different outcome in 2027. Rather, President Tinubu risks losing a large chunk of northern Muslim votes if he listens to these calls and goes ahead to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“We advise Mr President not to gamble with the 2023 election. President Tinubu will lose 80 percent of northern Muslim votes if he decides to change Shettima. Even if he decides to replace him with another northern Muslim, he will lose northern Muslim votes so the best approach is to maintain the status quo and go with what worked for him in the last election,” the statement stressed.
