People told Tinubu I planned to kill him – Shettima
Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed how some individuals attempted to pit him against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, barely three months after they assumed office.
Speaking at the launch of “My Life of Duty and Allegiance,” the autobiography of former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, in Abuja on Tuesday, Shettima said the individuals, whom he declined to name but described as being from Borno State, visited Tinubu and alleged that he was plotting to kill the president and take over power.
The vice president explained that ahead of the 2023 presidential primaries, while Tinubu was consulting across the North, he sourced traditional Borno attire and a cap for the president to wear at campaign events so he could connect more easily with northern audiences.
He said feedback from Tinubu’s aides showed that the attire fitted perfectly, prompting the president to wear it repeatedly throughout the campaign period.
Shettima said the people warned Tinubu against wearing the traditional outfits he had gifted him during the 2023 campaign, claiming the garments had been laced with charms and could lead to his death.
While paying tribute to Tinubu for his statesmanship, Shettima said the president summoned him over the allegation after he returned from China in October 2023, one of his earliest major foreign assignments as Vice President.
“When I came back from China, where I had represented him at the Belt and Road Initiative Conference, he said: ‘Sit down. Your people came to me and said I should stop wearing those dresses you gave me. They said I must have been charmed, and that I am going to die and you will become the president,”
He said Tinubu, not only dismissed the allegation, but deliberately wore the outfits for an entire week as a public rejection of what he described as a story that “did not add up.”
According to Shettima, the president told him: “Their story did not add up because, when you gave me those dresses, I was an aspirant. I wasn’t even the candidate, and neither were you the vice-presidential candidate.
“For one week, to prove to them that he is not fetish, he wore those dresses. These are some of the gimmicks that are taking place in power circles in Nigeria nowadays,” Shettima said.
On the man at the centre of yesterday’s event, the vice president recalled that the Sultan of Sokoto once narrated that his family regularly sent gallons of fura to former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, at Dodan Barracks in Lagos.
According to him, Gowon accepted the gesture without suspicion, reflecting the deep trust that once existed among Nigerians.
The vice president, however, said such trust has faded, saying suspicion now defines many relationships across the country.
He stressed that Nigerians remain one people bound by a shared destiny and should not allow distrust to divide them.
This is the first time Shettima has publicly spoken about his relationship with President Tinubu, despite speculation of a rift between the two leaders and claims he could be dropped as Tinubu’s running mate ahead of the 2027 election.
The rumours intensified in June 2025, during an APC North-East stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe State convened to endorse Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Violence erupted after the party’s zonal vice chairman, Mustapha Salihu, ended his speech without mentioning Shettima on the proposed 2027 ticket.
Angry delegates responded with chants of “Shettima! Shettima!! Shettima!!!” while one supporter confronted Salihu on stage. Witnesses said chairs were thrown as the protest turned violent, forcing security operatives to intervene.
The situation worsened when former APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, also avoided directly endorsing Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate, prompting chants of “No Shettima, no APC in the North-East.”
Few months after, President Tinubu described Shettima as a loyal partner and dependable ally in the collective effort to build a more prosperous Nigeria.
In a statement to celebrate Shettima’s 59th birthday, Tinubu said he did not make a mistake in choosing him as his deputy.
At another event in February 2026, the president also described his vice as “a very good partner on the journey for progress.”
