…Reveals Jonathan’s plot to unseat him
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has stirred political debate over the 2027 presidential race when he praised former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i, describing him as a force who cannot be ignored, while also revealing how former President Goodluck Jonathan once tried to remove him as Borno State governor.
Speaking yesterday at the public presentation of OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3bn Nigeria Oil Block, a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) – Shettima hailed el-Rufa’i as a major political player. “You can hate him, you can love him; but you can’t ignore him”, Shettima said at the Abuja event, which drew key northern politicians, including el-Rufa’i himself.
His remark has added fuel to speculation about cracks within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of 2027. In June, tensions flared at an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe, when North-East delegates protested the omission of Shettima’s name from official acknowledgements during a rally for President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid. The snub triggered chants of: “Shettima! Shettima!”, as angry delegates warned the party against sidelining the North-East’s highest-ranking officeholder.
“This is a calculated attempt to edge out Shettima, and we will resist it with everything we have”, one Borno delegate said at the chaotic meeting, which ended with many chanting: “No Shettima-no APC in the North-East”.
Although then-National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje appealed for calm, rumours persist that Tinubu may drop Shettima from the 2027 ticket, potentially paving the way for alliances with influential northern figures like el-Rufa’i, who is said to be central to an emerging opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress, (ADC).
Shettima praised Adoke and Tambuwal for their courage and noted that the episode cemented his bond with both men. He also commended Adoke for forgiving those who wronged him while in office.
The book presented at the event delves into the controversial $1.3 billion Malabu oil deal of 2011, in which Shell and Italy’s Eni acquired Nigeria’s lucrative OPL 245 oil block, believed to contain up to nine billion barrels of crude.
Critics have pointed out that Shettima’s defence of the rule of law back then contrasts sharply with the Tinubu administration’s actions in Rivers State, where Governor Siminalayi Fubara faces suspension under what many see as a politically motivated emergency rule.
