Vice President Shettima Expresses Concerns
OpenLife News reports that Vice President Kashim Shettima has raised the alarm over what he described as his biggest fear ahead of the 2027 general elections — deepening internal wranglings within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that internal contradictions pose a greater threat to the party than the opposition.
Shettima spoke on Saturday in Abuja when he unveiled the campaign head office of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern coalition backing the Tinubu/Shettima ticket, and formally inaugurated its campaign structure.
According to the Vice President, while the opposition has been weakened, the APC risks derailing its own chances if it fails to manage internal crises.
“Honestly, I am not afraid of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. I am not afraid of a diminished Peter Obi. But I am more afraid of internal contradictions within our household. If we unite as a people, as a family, we will conquer,” Shettima said.
He cited the lingering political wranglings involving key party gladiators as examples of the kind of internal battles that could cost the APC dearly if not checked.
In Rivers State, he pointed to the protracted face-off involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the party structure in the state, which has left the APC divided into camps and struggling to present a united front.
In Imo State, he referenced the crisis generated by Governor Hope Uzodinma’s alleged imposition of candidates and running battles with party stakeholders, a development that has triggered defections and pockets of parallel structures in the South-East chapter of the party.
Shettima warned that such patterns, if replicated across states, could undermine the party’s chances in both presidential and sub-national elections.
“There is no point in championing the cause of the presidential election and then undermining the governor in the gubernatorial election. Honestly, it will not go down well with the system,” he cautioned.
“Let’s rally round our governors. Let’s rally round our members of the National Assembly. Let’s rally round President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and see to the victory in the next round of elections,” he added.
He reminded party members that the election is less than 100 days away by the electoral calendar of activities, stressing that democracy requires humility and renewed engagement with Nigerians.
“In less than 100 days, Nigerians will return to the polls. Democracy requires us to seek their confidence again, with humility about the work outstanding and conviction about the cause we have chosen,” he said.
On former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Shettima urged members to campaign respectfully.
“Go and perform. Go and defeat Baba Atiku. Defeat him respectfully,” he said.
Shettima said the APC has the numerical strength to dominate the 2027 polls, noting that the party has over 361,045 officials from ward to local government levels to cover 176,845 polling units nationwide.
“What it means is that we can match every polling unit two to two,” he said.
He stressed that politics remains local and charged all political appointees to prove their relevance at their polling units, wards and local governments.
“Politics is still local. I have asked the Borno State governor to compile a list of all political appointees from the state to local government level. Let him account for his performance at his polling unit, at his ward unit and in his local government,” Shettima said.
The Vice President acknowledged current economic hardships, saying every struggling household reminds the government of how much work remains to be done.
“Every household struggling to make ends meet reminds us how much remains to be done. We lose our hearing when applause becomes our only source of information,” he said.
He defended President Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the President inherited a near-collapsed economy with just $3.9 billion in foreign reserves and over N27 trillion in Ways and Means expenditure.
“Nigeria was on the road to Caracas. The economy was teetering on the brink of collapse. He literally saved the nation,” Shettima said, adding that reserves have now grown to $58.9 billion for the first time in nearly 18 years.
He assured northerners that they have nothing to fear in a second term for Tinubu, saying “He has the North at heart.”
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