President Bola Tinubu on Thursday presented to Vice President Kashim Shettima the official certificate confirming his selection as the All Progressives Congress vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 general election. Tinubu handed his deputy the certificate in a small ceremony at his office at the State House, Abuja. In a 45-second video shared by the State House media office, Shettima was seen being ushered into Tinubu’s office by the President’s Liaison Officer.
The ceremony came days after the APC formally submitted both men’s nomination forms to INEC ahead of the commission’s July 11, 2026, deadline for presidential and National Assembly candidates. The nomination forms were presented to the APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, at the Continental Hotel in Abuja on July 10, on behalf of the President, by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari.
INEC had fixed July 11, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to submit Forms EC9 and EC9A-EC9E for presidential, vice-presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates, in line with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026. Bowing to pressure, the electoral body shifted the deadline to Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
The APC formally submitted the names of Tinubu and Shettima as its presidential candidates for the poll, with the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, expressing confidence that the APC would retain power in the 2027 general election. At the APC’s May 23 presidential primary, Tinubu polled 10,999,162 votes against sole challenger Stanley Osifo’s 16,503.
The 2027 presidential election is expected to be held on January 16, in line with the revised electoral timetable under the Electoral Act 2026.
