North East stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress have thrown their weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s decision to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

They described the move as a reward for loyalty, competence, and a validation of the region’s political relevance ahead of next year’s polls.

The commendation followed the formal unveiling of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in Abuja, where the APC National Working Committee, led by National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, received the presidential nomination forms of both Tinubu and Shettima ahead of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s submission deadline.

The ceremony, held at the Continental Hotel in Abuja, drew a cross-section of party leaders, including governors, members of the National Assembly, and state party chairmen, and put to rest months of speculation over whether the President would replace Shettima on the ticket.

Speaking on behalf of North East APC youths, the Coordinating Chairman of the North East APC Youth Critical Stakeholders Forum praised Shettima as one of the most loyal and result-oriented vice presidents in the country’s history, describing his re-nomination as both a personal victory and a reaffirmation of the region’s strategic importance within the party.

He recalled that the North East had championed the push for the vice-presidential slot to be zoned to the region in 2023, and commended Tinubu for honouring that arrangement by retaining Shettima despite persistent pressure over the party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket.

The stakeholders further tied the endorsement to the broader recovery of the North East, a region still healing from years of Boko Haram insurgency, arguing that Tinubu’s reconstruction programmes, security interventions, and humanitarian support had begun restoring stability to affected communities.

They pledged that the region’s youth, who they said make up a significant share of registered voters locally, would mobilise to deliver strong numbers for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in 2027 as a demonstration of gratitude for the President’s continued inclusion of the North East in the corridors of power.

The endorsement adds to a wave of commendations that have trailed the APC’s decision across the country, with party stalwarts and lawmakers from other regions similarly praising the move as one that consolidates the ruling party’s hold on Northern Nigeria and strengthens its prospects of securing a second term for the Tinubu-Shettima administration in the 2027 general election.

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