2027: Tinubu chooses Shettima as running mate, meeting electoral commission's cutoff date

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has expressed confidence that the party is not intimidated by opposition propaganda ahead of the 2027 general election, citing President Bola Tinubu's strong backing of over 12 million bloc votes from party members.

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This assurance was given on Friday when Yilwatda received the completed Independent National Electoral Commission presidential nomination forms of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima at a ceremony in Abuja.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has set a deadline of Saturday, July 11, 2026, for political parties to upload their candidates' names to its nomination portal, a requirement the APC has now fulfilled.

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The submission of the nomination forms has put an end to speculation about President Tinubu's running mate, confirming Vice President Kashim Shettima as his choice, and paving the way for their upload to the INEC portal, which was completed on Friday night.

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The nomination forms were presented to the APC by Hon. Ibrahim Masari, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Political and Other Matters, at an event attended by APC governors, led by Senator Hope Uzodinma, Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State.

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Other attendees included deputy governors, members of the National Working Committee, the APC Caucus in the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council, senate and governorship candidates, and other party leaders and stakeholders.

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According to Yilwatda, the occasion marked the culmination of a process that began with primary elections across all levels of government, from the House of Assembly to the presidential primary.

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Yilwatda stated that the event reflected the wishes of over 12 million APC members who voted for President Tinubu as their candidate in the 2027 presidential election.

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The APC Chairman noted that beneficiaries of the administration's programmes, including over 1.5 million students on the student loan scheme and their families, as well as communities benefiting from new road networks and fertiliser support to farmers, would also support President Tinubu's candidacy.

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Yilwatda urged governors and supporters to promote the administration's achievements, citing his own community's experience of verifying government projects, which they found to be accurate.

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He instructed Masari to inform President Tinubu that party members would vote massively for him, expressing confidence that the APC would achieve its highest-ever votes across the geopolitical zones.

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Yilwatda reaffirmed the party's confidence in its success, saying "We are not afraid, we are not in doubt of our success, there is no shaking at all in any way, that come 2027 our victory as a party is assured and assured".