Vice-President Kashim Shettima has warned President Bola Tinubu and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress to avoid complacency ahead of the 2027 electioneering.

“Your excellencies, Rome was not destroyed by outside invaders. Rome was destroyed by the complacency of the Romans. I wish to implore all of us to know that to succeed is much easier than to maintain that success,” stated the vice-president.

Mr Shettima said this during the 14th National Caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

He restated the need for the APC to sustain its growing dominance nationwide.

The vice-president highlighted the APC’s strength across the six geopolitical zones, drawing attention to the expanding influence in states controlled by new entrants and defectors.

Mr Shettima added, “The whole of the South-South region is in the APC fold—the whole of the North-Central. Out of the seven states in the North West, five are in the APC. Out of the six states in the South-West, four are in the APC.

“Out of the six states in the North-East, four are in the APC. Certainly, we have become a force of nature. I can get one state from the South-South, for instance, and discuss. Who are the power brokers in Delta state, for instance, besides Governor Sheriff?

“We have the immediate vice-presidential candidate of the sinking ship called PDP, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, within our fold. And with Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the former deputy president of the Senate, for God’s sake, how do you expect us to lose in Delta? And I can recreate the same thing in every state of the federation.”

He reassured governors who recently joined the APC that they had found a home in the ruling party.

Mr Shettima also expressed delight that more politicians were eager to join the party, projecting that the ruling party would remain dominant beyond 2027.