Former presidential adviser Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has called on President Bola Tinubu to personally address growing speculation about replacing Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed expressed concern that the presidency’s silence was fueling unnecessary political tension.
Baba-Ahmed questioned the basis of the persistent rumors suggesting Shettima might be replaced with another northern candidate, possibly a Christian or someone from a different region.
He stated, “I would be very curious to find out what it is that makes all these stories about dropping him. I think, somewhere along the line, to be honest, the President should have done something a long time ago.”
The elder statesman argued that a direct statement from Tinubu could have easily quashed the speculation. “If all these stories have absolutely no iota of truth, it would have taken just one thing: the President directly and personally saying, ‘Stop this nonsense. I have confidence in my Vice President, I work well with him, I am happy with him, and I want this nonsense about me dropping him, now or in the future, to stop,'” Baba-Ahmed said.
While presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga had dismissed the rumors in June as a “non-issue,” Baba-Ahmed maintained that only a statement from Tinubu himself would be convincing.
He noted the president could have said, “I will take a decision on who my running mate is in 2027 when we get there. In the meantime, we have work to do. But he didn’t say that. His people didn’t say that.”
Baba-Ahmed warned that the continued uncertainty was worrying and could distract from governance. He urged Tinubu to make an emphatic statement to clarify his position on Shettima’s future in the administration.
“If what I have said is exactly what the president thinks, he should have said it. If he doesn’t say it the way I have, he should have found a way – but it should come from him. It should be direct and it must be emphatic,” he concluded.
