Udenta says Tinubu humiliating Shettima in talk about VP slot in 2027
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Talk about Bola Tinubu’s potential running mate in the 2027 presidential election is humiliation of Vice President Kashim Shettima, says Udenta Udenta, founding National Secretary of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD).
AD, a political party Tinubu spearheaded, morphed into the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which merged with Muhammadu Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2013 to form the now-ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Udenta criticised the APC for its handling of the conversation about the vice presidential candidate, noting that APC Governors and other key party figures have endorsed Tinubu for a second term but are silent on Shettima’s role, which signals a deliberate plan in the party.
He also poured cold water on the claim of the APC that the choice of Tinubu’s running mate would be decided after its convention, saying such a decision should not be deferred or treated lightly, especially when there is a sitting Vice President.
“We should be talking more about the visible humiliation of the sitting Vice President,” Udenta argued on Channels Television.
“For the first time in our contemporary political history, we had Atiku Abubakar for four years and he was regarded highly by his boss, [Olusegun] Obasanjo. Designation became volatile, and naturally degenerated into a political dispute in the second term.
“We had [Umar] Yar’Adua, who had a very good relationship with his Deputy [Goodluck Jonathan] before he died, before Goodluck Jonathan became the President, and [Muhammadu] Buhari.
“Despite some issues here and there, his VP [Yemi Osibajo] was highly regarded and respected.
“Suddenly, we find a Vice President, two years into his tenure, was actually being told you are not part of this government – because his name was not mentioned in the endorsement of the President by the party.
“And the President reaffirmed that the President has no running mate for 2027, saying after the convention, he will decide, is not done.
“So, if you are taking one, you take the other along with you on the journey. History has expressly stated that.
“He (Shettima) is not even sure of where he stands until after the convention, when the President decides. It should be a Tinubu/Shettima joint ticket going into 2027.
“That is conventional. That is the accepted rule. If you don’t do that as the sitting President, then the Vice President should say, am I really part of this government?”
Udenta said he had anticipated the resignation of APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje which came last Friday, and “his resignation didn’t come to me as a shock.”
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