Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, has clarified that President Bola Tinubu will only settle on his vice-presidential pick for the 2027 election once the All Progressives Congress (APC) holds its national convention.

Speaking to Daily Trust amid swirling rumours that Vice President Kashim Shettima might be dropped, Onanuga explained that in Nigeria’s presidential system, the nominee comes first, followed by the choice of a running mate.

“That’s exactly how it worked in President Buhari’s administration: the party confirmed its candidate before the deputy was appointed,” he said. “We don’t select both simultaneously. After INEC publishes its election timetable, the convention will convene, and if the president secures the APC nomination again, he’ll then pick his partner on the ticket.”

Onanuga dismissed suggestions of tension between Tinubu and Shettima as mere “beer parlour gossip.” “I’m not aware of any fallout between the president and his vice,” he remarked. “From everything I’ve seen, they collaborate effectively. All this talk about Seyi Tinubu being installed as vice president is absolute nonsense.”

He also rejected comparisons to Tinubu’s time as Lagos governor, when he had a public falling-out with his first deputy, saying those were driven by specific political circumstances rather than any habit of discarding deputies.

“In his first term, there were disagreements with Kofo [Ikire], and later Femi Pedro left after pursuing his own gubernatorial bid,” Onanuga noted. “But that doesn’t establish a pattern of dumping deputies; it reflects unique situations in each case.”

With the APC stakeholders’ summit in Gombe briefly descending into unrest over the omission of Shettima’s name during a call to endorse Tinubu’s second term, Onanuga emphasised that the party would formally confirm both its presidential standard-bearer and running mate at the upcoming convention, putting the speculation firmly to rest.