Vice President Kashim Shettima urged All Progressives Congress supporters in Nasarawa State to back the party’s candidates in every 2027 race, challenging Nyesom Wike’s cross-party strategy for President Bola Tinubu.
At the Nov. 4 rally in Lafia, Shettima represented Tinubu and directed his appeal to APC supporters in the state. The Guardian reported that he called on them to vote for APC candidates from the presidency through the State Houses of Assembly. “We want APC straight,” he said, rejecting the split-ticket approach associated with Wike’s Rainbow Coalition.
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has argued that voters can support Tinubu for president while choosing candidates from other parties in state and legislative races. In an interview with TVC News, Wike described the Rainbow Coalition as a cross-party vehicle for Tinubu’s presidential campaign. His approach leaves voters free to support Tinubu without necessarily backing APC nominees in other contests.
The coalition has endorsed Tinubu and put forward a Rivers State slate spanning party lines. That strategy ties the president’s re-election effort to candidates running under different party labels. Shettima’s appeal, by contrast, asks APC supporters to align their choices with the ruling party across offices, putting the two approaches in direct competition for down-ballot support.
The Progressive Governors Forum also opposed arrangements that could weaken APC candidates in a position read by its chair, Hope Uzodimma, on Sept. 14. Wike has cited the G5 governors’ split voting in 2023 as a precedent for separating presidential and other electoral choices, TVC News reported.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for Jan. 16, 2027. Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are set for Feb. 6.
