Vice President Kashim Shettima has questioned the political influence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, declaring that he lacks the support and political strength to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Shettima made the remarks on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, where he led prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to the party’s presidential campaign rally for Tinubu’s re-election.
He argued that Atiku’s inability to secure the support of influential political figures in his home state of Adamawa demonstrated his limited political reach ahead of the election.
The vice president specifically pointed to five former and serving governors from Adamawa State who, according to him, were backing Tinubu rather than the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.
He maintained that Atiku should first establish his political influence at home before seeking the support of Nigerians nationwide.
Shettima identified former governors Bindow Jibrilla, Murtala Nyako, Boni Haruna and Bala Ngilari, alongside incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, as political figures who had declared support for Tinubu.
He said, “If you cannot control your own state, if you are not relevant in your home base, how can you tell others to elect you?”
The vice president also questioned the ADC’s electoral strength in Ekiti State, citing the party’s performance in the 2026 governorship election, where its candidate reportedly secured approximately 12,000 votes.
He urged Ekiti residents to support Tinubu’s second-term ambition, expressing confidence that the APC would secure between 90 and 95 per cent of the votes cast in Ekiti during the January 2027 presidential election.
According to Shettima, the state has slightly over one million registered voters, while more than 900,000 Permanent Voter Cards have been collected. He argued that the APC was well positioned to achieve its target, particularly following the decision of governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) to support Tinubu.
Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji also expressed confidence in the president’s electoral prospects, pledging that the state would deliver at least 80 per cent of its registered votes to the APC candidate.
Oyebanji said the support of opposition political figures reflected growing political unity in the state. He recalled that Tinubu had supported his governorship ambition during the 2022 campaign and promised federal assistance for Ekiti, adding that the president had fulfilled that commitment through various projects and interventions.
The governor further cited the APC’s victory in the June 20, 2026 governorship election, in which he secured 85.7 per cent of the votes cast, as evidence of the party’s acceptance among residents.
In a significant development at the rally, the PDP and APM governorship candidates in the 2026 Ekiti election, Wole Oluyede and Joseph Anifowoshe, respectively, publicly declared support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Oluyede said the performance of Oyebanji’s administration and the Federal Government’s interventions in the state had brought political leaders together across party lines. He pledged that opposition politicians would work towards delivering 99 per cent of the votes to Tinubu.
Other APC leaders at the rally, including National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, also called for Tinubu’s re-election.
Oshiomhole defended the administration’s economic policies, highlighting the N70,000 minimum wage, student loan scheme, recruitment into security agencies and expansion of educational institutions. He challenged opposition parties to explain what they would do differently if elected.
The rally was attended by several political figures, including former Ekiti governors Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose, and Kayode Fayemi, as well as Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
