Friday, June 20, 2025 - The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has said that the President will choose his running mate for the 2027 presidential election only after formally accepting the party’s nomination during its convention in 2026.
Onanuga stated this during an interview with Daily Trust.
Responding to a question on why the presidency has remained
silent amid growing controversy over the omission of Vice President Kashim
Shettima from a wave of endorsements for Tinubu, Onanuga dismissed suggestions
that the silence amounted to tacit approval of the vice president’s exclusion.
“When I read
the report, I dismissed it as a non-issue. In a presidential system, the
candidate emerges first and then selects a running mate. That’s what happened
under Buhari—he was nominated first and later picked his running mate. You
don’t do both at once.
Once INEC
releases the timetable, the party convention will hold, and if the president is
nominated again, he will choose his running mate,” he said.
Onanuga also dismissed speculations that Tinubu’s record as
governor of Lagos State in which he changed deputies twice, might play out in
2027.
“That’s just
speculation. Yes, when he was governor, there were issues. In his first term,
he and his deputy, Kofo, didn’t get along, and she had to leave. Femi Pedro
replaced her. In the second term, he retained Pedro, but Pedro later defected,
he wanted to be governor. That’s why he had to go. I don’t want to reopen old
wounds, but that’s what happened.
So, it’s
wrong to say he has a pattern of discarding deputies. There were specific
political circumstances each time. That’s what I’m explaining,” he said
Onanuga clarified that there is no rift between President
Tinubu and Shettima.
“I’m not
aware of any issues between the president and the vice president. From what I
know, they have an excellent working relationship. All the speculation is just
beer parlour gossip. People even say ridiculous things like Seyi Tinubu is the
vice president, absolute nonsense.
In this
country, deputy roles, whether deputy governor or vice president, are always
surrounded by rumours. Even when there’s no conflict, people around them will
concoct stories. But as far as I know, Tinubu and Shettima work together very
well” he said
Asked whether his comments meant the controversial
Muslim-Muslim ticket that brought Tinubu to power in 2023 would be repeated in
2027, Onanuga said the matter was no longer an issue, insisting that earlier
fears about Islamisation had been dispelled.
“Christians are living their
lives. The president even attended the Pope’s inauguration in Rome. There’s
nothing to worry about. Many of the names being speculated as potential running
mates are Muslims. So again, this isn’t an issue,” he added.
Responding to criticisms about the flurry of endorsements for the
president despite INEC not officially declaring the campaign period open,
Onanuga said it was a necessary response to opposition attacks.
“The endorsements are a reaction
to something. If those in the so-called coalition had not started throwing
missiles at the Tinubu administration and the APC, the APC would have waited
until early next year to respond. But we had to show that we’re not asleep but
ready to square up. You can’t expect the president to sit by while his
opponents are plotting openly against him.
We’re grateful for the confidence
they have in him. Of course, we welcome the endorsements, even though the
campaign period hasn’t officially begun. Everyone knows that. But because the
opposition jumped the gun, the ruling party can’t just fold its arms,” he said
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