Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has revealed that the president will announce his running mate for the 2027 election after the national convention of the All Progressives Congress, APC next year.

Mr Onanuga, disclosed this on Thursday during an exclusive interview with Daily Trust.

Clarifying the presidency’s position over the plethora of endorsements of the president for second term without Mr Shettima, the presidential media aide said: “When I read the report, I dismissed it as a non-issue. In a presidential system, the candidate emerges first and then selects a running mate.

“That’s what happened under Buhari—he was nominated first and later picked his running mate. You don’t do both at once.

“Once INEC releases the timetable, the party convention will hold, and if the president is nominated again, he will choose his running mate,” he said.

He dismissed speculation that Mr Tinubu might discard Mr Shettima the way he did to his deputies while serving as Lagos State governor.

“That’s just speculation. Yes, when he was governor, there were issues. In his first term, he and his deputy, Kofo, didn’t get along, and she had to leave. Femi Pedro replaced her. In the second term, he retained Pedro, but Pedro later defected—he wanted to be governor. That’s why he had to go. I don’t want to reopen old wounds, but that’s what happened.

“So, it’s wrong to say he has a pattern of discarding deputies. There were specific political circumstances each time. That’s what I’m explaining,” he said.

He further described the purported rift between the duo as beer parlour gist.

“I’m not aware of any issues between the president and the vice president. From what I know, they have an excellent working relationship. All the speculation is just beer parlour gossip. People even say ridiculous things like Seyi Tinubu is the vice president—absolute nonsense.

“In this country, deputy roles—whether deputy governor or vice president—are always surrounded by rumours. Even when there’s no conflict, people around them will concoct stories. But as far as I know, Tinubu and Shettima work together very well,” he said.

Mr Onanuga also hinted at the possibility of the ruling party flying the same faith ticket.

“Christians are living their lives. The president even attended the Pope’s inauguration in Rome. There’s nothing to worry about.

“Many of the names being speculated as potential running mates are Muslims. So again, this isn’t an issue,” he added.