Politics

Dropping Shettima won’t stop Tinubu’s 2027 victory — APC N’Central Forum chair

Published

10 months ago

August 4, 2025

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Forum in the North-Central, Saleh Zazzaga, speaks with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI on the region’s political interest, opposition realignment against President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, internal party threats, and the future of Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of 2027

Some opposition elements have claimed that Professor Nentawe Yilwatda’s emergence as the APC National Chairman threatens the credibility of the upcoming general election because he is a former Resident Electoral Commissioner. Isn’t this concern legitimate?

No, the man resigned from the position in 2022. He contested for the Plateau State governorship under the platform of All Progressives Congress and lost the election. But based on our calculations, he is the best to lead our party to victory in 2027. More so, you can’t predict the outcome of the next election based on our chairman’s past performance. This is because a lot of people play religion politics against him at the last election. But this won’t happen in 2027.

Recently, the All Nigeria Peoples Party bloc in the APC threatened to dump your party if President Bola Tinubu drops Vice President Kashim Shettima and fails to pick someone else from their bloc. What is your take on this?

There is no person or group of people that will pull out of the APC that will make President Tinubu lose the 2027 election. That will not even happen because he has a strong relationship with Shettima and the rest. The ANPP people are only trying to create a gap between the President and the VP. But even if that happens, the President will still have his lead in the 2027 election. We have a feeling that those who called the press conference are not even leaders of the ANPP bloc. So, we can’t take them seriously. More so, even if the President decides to change the VP, it’s for the interest of the APC. If you look at the last election, the President closely lost in Borno State. The President lost the entire North-East. So, if calculation will lead to changing the VP, nothing will happen.

Are you saying the ANPP leaders are being sponsored to cause issues between Tinubu and the VP?

Yes, exactly and they know their sponsors. They just want to create issues where there is none. This is because as we speak, there has been no official statement that President Tinubu is going to change Shettima. So those agitating should wait and see. If the President will change Shettima, he will just issue a statement that will convince everybody.

You said that going by calculations President Tinubu can decide to drop Shettima because in the last election, he did not win the North-East. Will that be a fair ground to drop the VP?

If calculation gives us that alternative to change Shettima, why not? At least, it is for the interest of winning the 2027 election. Mind you, we are not talking of regional interest. We are only calculating how to win the 2027 election. We will do our mathematics to know what is going to happen in the next election. If going with Shettima will give us victory, why should we change him? We will simply manage him and continue with him. But if we do our calculations and find that we are not going to win the 2027 election that way, we will have no alternative than to change him.

Do you think Shettima has performed well enough to make the APC win his region in the next election should the President decide to run with him?

The VP has tried his best. It is just the ANPP people who are trying to strain his relationship with the President, all in a bid to gratify their own interests and those of the opposition parties. They are just trying to create problem between the two leaders.

Are you saying those people are likely being sponsored by the African Democratic Congress?

No, opposition parties. It might not be only the ADC because we do not take the party seriously. We believe that very soon the party (ADC) will scatter because it is being programmed to fulfill the interests of a particular person. So, if that person doesn’t have his way, some of the people will fall out and the party will not be the same.

Whose interests are you talking about?

The party is running for the interests of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, from all indications. If you see the kind of people in the party, all of them are Atiku’s supporters. So, if they don’t give Atiku the presidential ticket, the party will crash. I’m very, very sure. You will just wait and see. Time shall tell.

The North Central seems to be agitating for the vice-presidential slot under President Bola Tinubu in 2027. How true is this?

No, I kicked against that. You know, we cannot just agitate for something of four years. If we are to bring something from the North Central, we need somebody that will spend eight years, not four years. Automatically, if they substitute Kashim Shettima with someone from North Central, the person is going to be there for only four years. I am against that agitation. Let Tinubu and Shettima finish their term with anybody from any region, not from North Central. If they are going to zone, let them zone the presidency to the North Central, not the vice presidency.

So you feel it is better they should zone the presidency to your region and not the vice presidency?

Yes, after Tinubu’s second term. This is because of all the regions, we (North-Central) and South-East, are the only ones that haven’t produced a president or vice president since the beginning of current democratic dispensation. And we have contributed a lot. In the last general election, we gave APC five governors (Nasarawa, Niger, Benue, Kogi, and Kwara). No other zone produced five governors for the APC in 2023. We gave President Bola Tinubu the third highest number of votes after South-West and North-West. Secondly, among all the zones, we had the highest number of governors, senators, Reps, and House of Assembly members.

Recently, the New Nigeria People’s Party and the presidency have been locked in a verbal war over alleged marginalisation of northern Nigeria. Will you say President Tinubu’s administration has truly been fair to the North?

Yes, 100 per cent. This is because insecurity, whose rate used to be very high is 30 per cent now. The economy of the country is also developing every day. If not because of Tinubu, we don’t even know what would have happened in the country. So, I believe the President has really tried in the area of security. He has also sited some education and health infrastructure in the North. He has done a lot for us.

The North seems divided over President Tinubu’s re-election. Do you believe the President deserves a second term based on current state of the country?

If you look at the people leading the opposition coalition, you will see that it is only North Central that hasn’t brought anybody forward to contest against the president, because we believe in his leadership. We see the massive achievements. There used to be high rate of insecurity before, but it is over now.

But dozens were killed in Benue and Plateau in recent months?

You cannot stop all like that. But the President is trying. There is a lot of effort he is putting on the ground to end insecurity in our zone. So, we cannot challenge that. Before, our natives could not access their own farms. But now, some of them are already in their farms, due to his effort. So, we believe that with the current effort he is putting in place, in the next two years, insecurity will end in our region.

Since being adopted by opposition coalition, the African Democratic Congress has been gaining momentum across the country, attracting members in the Peoples Democratic Party and the APC. Don’t you think this may likely pose a significant threat to President Tinubu’s re-election?

No. They are going nowhere. They are an association of past politicians. They are not even recent politicians. They cannot go anywhere. All those people are power hungry. All of them have served in various capacities. We know how they play. So, the masses are not going to support them. The people still trust President Tinubu’s leadership.

Are you saying the coalition leaders do not have support base. What of Nasir El-Rufai, former Kaduna State governor?

Yes, if you call El-Rufai, can you name three or four more people?

What about former Vice President Atiku Abubakar?

No. That person doesn’t have any value. When he was vice president of this country, there was no evidence in his village. We know all their records.

What about Peter Obi of the Labour Party and the Obidient Movement?

Peter Obi won’t get the kind of support he had in the last election because they are not going to make him their candidate. They will overpower him and won’t give him the ticket. Even if they give him the ticket, in the last election, how many votes did Obi have in Anambra State?

He had over 580,000 votes in Anambra State out of 624,612 total vote cast? So you don’t still think he is a force to reckon with?

No. Go and check again. The records are there. All I know is they are going nowhere.

What if ADC eventually picks Obi as its standard-bearer?

If they finally pick Obi, they know they are not going to win. All the northerners will not vote for him. None of them will support him. We know their politics.

But some of them voted for him in the last election. He won Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory?

And which state again? You only mentioned one, but the North has 19 states.

Considering that segments of the PDP, and even parts of the APC are folding into the ADC, alongside the deepening alliances of Atiku and El-Rufai, don’t you think if Obi clinches the party’s ticket, he would pose a formidable challenge to Tinubu?

No. The politics of northern Nigeria is different. Immediately Obi becomes the candidate of ADC in the forthcoming election, just believe me, that is the end of the ADC movement.

Are you saying giving Obi the ticket would sink the ADC?

Yes, Obi or Atiku. If any of them gets the ADC ticket, that is the end of the party. Though Obi will win some votes, he is not going to win many states. I believe President Tinubu’s performance will overcome all of them.

Do you see governors from PDP and even APC eventually joining the ADC-led coalition as the 2027 presidential race hots up?

No, it’s not going to be possible. Instead of them joining ADC, they will rather come to APC. This is because the governors are in the best position to know President Tinubu’s achievements. So, they cannot go to any ADC. Instead, they will join the APC. Since the creation of this country, we’ve never had a president that touched the lives of the common man like Tinubu.

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Politics

I am open to reconciling with Kano gov – Kwankwaso

Published

2 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Former Kano State Governor and national leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, says he remains willing to forgive Governor Abba Yusuf and reconcile with him despite their political differences, insisting that his affection for his former protégé has not diminished.

Relationship between the two politicians soured after Yusuf defected from the New Nigeria People’s Party, under which he won the 2023 governorship election, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, a move that drew sharp criticism from members of the Kwankwasiyya movement.

Speaking in an interview in a video posted by BBC Hausa on Monday, Kwankwaso, who has also defected from NNPP to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, said the door to reconciliation remains open.

He stressed that Yusuf was the one who chose to leave their political fold and that he would not turn him away if he decided to return.

“I still love Abba and I didn’t reject him, he is the one that left. So not just Abba, if anyone who left comes back, I won’t be unforgiving. Look at Ganduje, in the many years we worked together, we fell out several times and got back together. That is how politics works,” he said.

Kwankwaso argued that Yusuf’s electoral victory was made possible by the strength of the movement.

“We picked Abba to contest under the NNPP and we won, but he left to join the people we defeated. Some say he did so because he feared losing his position, but he knows there was no way we would have been defeated in Kano. If that were the case, we would have lost when he contested under our party,” he stated.

The former governor further explained that the movement intentionally fielded Yusuf in 2023 to demonstrate its political influence.

“We did not choose him because he was the most senior or the most educated. We chose him because we wanted to test the strength and calibre of the Kwankwasiyya movement at that time,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of tolerance in leadership, Kwankwaso said leaders must accept differing opinions and embrace forgiveness.

“As a leader, you need to have an open heart. You cannot force people to think the way you do because we all come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. Without forgiveness, we would not have come this far,” he added.

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Politics

Peter Obi slams Tinubu over rising debt, says N200tn borrowed without accountability

Published

3 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as excessive borrowing and poor fiscal accountability.

Obi said Nigeria’s total public debt has risen to about N200 trillion, which he attributed to what he called “imprudent governance” under the current administration.

He said the debt level represents an increase of over N100 trillion in three years, contrasting it with the approximately N49 trillion accumulated during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The former Labour Party presidential flagbearer in the 2023 election stated this in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, saying the situation reflected a lack of accountability and transparency in the management of borrowed funds.

“President Bola Tinubu’s administration has engaged in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria’s total debt to approximately N200 trillion. This represents an increase of over N100 trillion within a mere three years, a stark contrast to the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, which would have projected to around N80 trillion.

“As millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable debt accumulation, the situation is exacerbated by the government’s reckless approach to borrowing and a profound absence of accountability and transparency in the utilisation of these funds,” he said.

Citing figures from the Budget Office, Obi said the government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September), exceeding its planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.

He said such an overrun should ordinarily attract scrutiny and explanation from relevant authorities.

“Under a responsible and accountable government, such an overshoot would necessitate rigorous scrutiny and explanation from relevant governmental bodies. Regrettably, this is not the reality under the current administration,” he said.

Obi further claimed that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the January–September 2025 period, representing 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a funding gap of about N14.48 trillion.

He questioned how the remaining funds were utilised.

“The most disturbing aspect of the financial management fiasco under Bola Tinubu is that there is no explanation or information regarding how the balance was utilised or deployed.

“The question that Nigerians are rightly asking and deserve an answer to is what happened to the balance? Was it deployed for recurrent expenditure/consumption, for the entertainment of guests to Aso Rock or transferred to the Renewed Hope Agenda 2027 Election Campaign Fund?

“Nigerians deserve an answer on how our economy and resources are most unpatriotically managed,” he said.

Nigeria has faced mounting debt pressures since the Tinubu administration’s major reforms began in mid-2023, including the removal of long-standing fuel subsidies and unification of the foreign exchange market.

These moves aimed to correct fiscal distortions but triggered immediate inflation spikes, naira volatility, and higher living costs, while increasing the local-currency burden of debt servicing.

Tinubu had disclosed in May 2026 that Nigeria plans to spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.

While supporters of the government argue that borrowings support critical infrastructure, critics warn of a debt without growth trap.

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Politics

ADC alleges PVC mop-up, fake Amotekun plot

Published

13 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Dare Bejide, on Monday, alleged mop-up of Permanent Voter Cards in parts of the state by some agents who he said were illegally collecting the document.

The Director, Communications, Media and Publicity, Amb Dare Bejide Campaign Organisation, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, said the perpetrators, who he identified as All Progressives Congress agents, wanted to use the cards for sinister purposes, as he appealed to residents not to succumb to such.

Aribisogan also alleged at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti that some political thugs were being kitted in fake Amotekun Security Network uniforms, adding that “the individuals are being trained and mobilised to intimidate voters, snatch ballot boxes and attack polling agents on election day.”

The ADC campaign spokesperson, who said the impersonation of Amotekun operatives was a deliberate plot to confuse voters and discredit a regional security outfit that Ekiti people trusted.

He called on the Ekiti Amotekun Corps Commander, Brig Gen Olu Adewa (retd) and the police “to immediately identify and arrest anyone found wearing an Amotekun uniform without authorisation.”

Aribisogan said, “Across several local government areas in Ekiti, our party has documented a pattern where agents and foot soldiers of the APC are moving from house to house and polling units demanding the collection of PVCs and National Identification Numbers from voters.

“They promised cash, food items, or welfare support in exchange. This is a direct violation of Section 121 of the Electoral Act 2022, which prohibits voter inducement and the seizure of voter cards.

“The aim is clear – disenfranchise citizens, harvest PVCs, and use them for thumb-printing and multiple voting on election day. No citizen should surrender their PVC or NIN to any political party agent. Your PVC is your power. Once you give it up, you give up your voice.”

He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a public warning against PVC and NIN harvesting and to deploy its monitoring teams to flashpoints immediately.

“We use this medium to tell Ekiti people not to be intimidated. Do not surrender your PVC or NIN. Do not be cowed by thugs in borrowed uniforms. Your vote is your right, and it is your power. Come out on election day, vote and protect your vote,” Aribisogan stated.

But the APC state Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, who spoke in a telephone interview, said the ADC members had only displayed their ignorance once again with their allegations.

Dipe, who said advanced technology had made use of another person’s PVC impossible, queried what APC would want to do with anybody’s voter card.

“The ADC have run out of what to say, and they are only displaying their ignorance. Nobody is mopping up PVCs.

“We will pardon their ignorance if they think that you can collect anybody’s PVC. Why can’t they collect another person’s PVC and see how useful or useless it is? So we are pardoning their ignorance,” he said.

The APC spokesperson, who also dismissed the allegation of kitting thugs in Amotekun outfits, said, “Amotekun is the project of the APC government. It is not the project of any other person. So why would we get fake Amotekun when we can recruit as many people into Amotekun?

“The duty of Amotekun is different. Amotekun is to ensure that people are not kidnapped; they go into the bushes. Are we kitting fake people to go into the bushes? So again, we pardon their ignorance for not knowing the roles and functions of Amotekun.”

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