Vice President Kashim Shettima
Vice President Kashim Shettima cannot be blamed for having doubts about whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would renominate him as his running mate for a second term.
As governor of Lagos State for eight years, Tinubu used three deputies: Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Femi Pedro, and Abiodun Ogunleye. Only Senate President Godswill Akpabio (as Akwa Ibom governor) matched this record in the last 27 years. Whether it was a matter of style, chemistry or vision, Governor Tinubu always had a reason to change his deputies. In Shettima’s case, history was not the only reason for concern.
Some desperately wanted his job from the start. A few were party stalwarts, like embattled former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who sources said thought it fair compensation for weighing in on Tinubu’s behalf when President Muhammadu Buhari was wavering about who would succeed him.
Of course, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who smelt trouble a million miles away, blocked El-Rufai soon enough, just as Shettima also launched his own simultaneous independent attack.
