As the 2027 presidential election draws near, political strategists in the All Progressives Congress (APC) are looking for new ways to improve their prospects of winning. The director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr. Sam Amadi, has made hints that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may be considering choosing a Christian from the North Central zone as his running mate.
During an appearance on Arise TV, Dr. Amadi emphasized how changing political circumstances would force Tinubu and the APC to reevaluate their ticket. According to him, the ruling party should think about balancing its next ticket to garner more national support after the uproar to the 2023 Muslim-Muslim presidential coupling.
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The analyst’s comments follow growing conjecture on Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s relationship. Debate regarding Shettima’s place on the 2027 ticket erupted after his name was noticeably missing from a recent APC endorsement event in Gombe. This exclusion, according to Dr. Amadi, is a reflection of the party’s cautious political maneuvering.
Amadi asserted that a similar situation might occur at the federal level, citing Tinubu’s history of transferring deputies as the previous governor of Lagos State.
“What do we lose by matching a Christian from the North Central, which hasn’t produced a president or vice president since 1999, with a Muslim president from the South?” this is a question that any Tinubu strategist would ask. “Oh,” Amadi said.
He said that Tinubu might strengthen the APC’s support in the Middle Belt, which was crucial in earlier elections, with such a move. But Amadi warned that Shettima’s replacement would cause internal resentment, calling the possible consequences “collateral damage” that might make Tinubu’s reelection campaign more difficult.
Additionally, he noted that the political landscape is changing, with younger people being more interested in governance and accountability than in religious or ethnic identities. This could provide a challenge to conventional campaign tactics in 2027.
In order to reconcile regional interests, internal cohesion, and shifting voter expectations before the next general election, the APC must make a number of difficult decisions, as highlighted by Amadi’s research.
