The All Progressives Congress (APC) has formally confirmed Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election, ending months of speculation over his position on the party’s ticket.
The ruling party also expressed confidence that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket would secure re-election after officially receiving their nomination forms for submission to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
The nomination forms were presented to APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, in Abuja by the President’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari.
The ceremony was attended by members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council, the APC National Working Committee, state party chairmen and several governorship candidates.
The submission comes ahead of INEC’s 6 p.m. deadline for political parties to upload the nomination forms of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through its online nomination portal in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026.
Addressing party leaders, APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, described the event as the formal presentation of the duly completed nomination forms of the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Argungu noted that Tinubu had earlier emerged as the APC’s presidential candidate during the party’s primary election and urged members to remain united ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking on behalf of APC governors, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma reaffirmed their support for the President and the party’s leadership.
“We are delighted that this event is coming after a well-organised and thoroughly supervised primary process. We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting President Tinubu and the party,” he said.
Uzodimma also urged party members to rally behind all APC candidates, expressing confidence that the party would retain power in the next election.
Receiving the nomination forms, Yilwatda said the event reflected the confidence of party members in Tinubu’s leadership and administration.
He highlighted the student loan scheme, infrastructure development and agricultural interventions as some of the achievements of the current administration and expressed optimism that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket would secure another term in office.
“We will all come out and mobilise across the six geopolitical zones. I am sure there will be healthy competition among the governors,” he said.
“One geopolitical zone has already told me they will deliver the highest number of votes for Mr President. I will be happy to see such competition among the governors as they mobilise their states so that we can see which state will return the highest number of votes for Mr President.”
Yilwatda added that the APC would campaign on the achievements of the administration, expressing confidence that Nigerians would reward the government with another mandate.
Speaking with journalists after the ceremony, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, confirmed that the party had retained both Tinubu and Shettima as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
“The presidential candidate of the party is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and our vice-presidential candidate is the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima,” he stated.
With the submission of the nomination forms, the APC has formally retained the Tinubu-Shettima ticket for the 2027 presidential election, bringing an end to months of uncertainty surrounding the vice president’s place on the ballot.
