Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed concern over the president’s continued silence on swirling rumours that Vice President Kashim Shettima might be dropped ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Baba-Ahmed, who stepped down from his advisory role roughly three months ago, said the failure of President Tinubu to personally address the rumours has only intensified public speculation. Speaking on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* on Wednesday, he argued that the controversy could have been defused with a simple, direct statement from the president.
“I would be very curious to find out what it is that makes all these stories about dropping him \[Shettima],” Baba-Ahmed said. “To be honest, the president should have done something a long time ago.”
According to him, if there was no truth to the rumours, President Tinubu should have unequivocally expressed confidence in his vice president and publicly shut down any insinuation of a change in his political partnership.
“It would have taken just one thing,” he said. “The President directly and personally saying, ‘Stop this nonsense. I have confidence in my Vice President, I work well with him, I am happy with him, and I want this nonsense about me dropping him, now or in the future, to stop.’”
The political adviser noted that the president’s aides have tried to dismiss the rumour, with presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga previously calling it a “non-issue.” But Baba-Ahmed believes such rebuttals lack the weight of a personal response from the president himself.
“It’s worrying, let me just say it is worrying,” he emphasized. “If what I have said is exactly what the president thinks, he should have said it. If he doesn’t say it the way I have, he should have found a way—but it should come from him, it should be direct and it must be emphatic.”
What you should know
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed is a respected Northern intellectual and political figure. He served briefly as a special adviser in the current administration before resigning.
His recent comments add pressure on President Tinubu to clarify his political intentions ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly regarding his alliance with Vice President Shettima—a strategic partner whose support base lies in Nigeria’s northeast.
