Mustapha Salihu, the National Vice Chairman (North East) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has doubled down on his refusal to endorse Vice President Kashim Shettima for renomination as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate.
Mr Salihu provoked violent reactions from delegates to the APC’s North-east zonal meeting when he proposed the endorsement of President Tinubu for renomination as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election, but was silent on the fate of the vice president.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that party leaders in the zone had planned to use the Gombe meeting to send a message to the president of their desire that their zone, through Mr Shettima, a former two-term governor of Borno State, retains the vice presidency under a Mr Tinubu’s second term
The position was in reaction to speculations that Mr Tinubu was considering picking a different sidekick from another northern zone.
However, in what some believed was a contravention of the meeting’s agenda, some party officials, including National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje and Mr Salihu, the topmost party official in the North-east, proposed President Tinubu’s endorsement but kept ominously mum on the fate of Mr Shettima.
In swift reactions, Mr Shettima’s supporters swooped on the two party officials, who had to be escorted out of the meeting by security officials.
Video footage from the event, reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, shows Mr Salihu ducking a plastic chair hurled at him by angry protesters. In the background, the voices of Borno Governor Babagana Zulum were audible, as he tried to calm the violence.
Salihu defends position
On Channels TV’s Politics on Monday live programme, Mr Salihu said endorsing Mr Shettima alongside President Tinubu contravenes the party’s constitution, stressing that the North-East APC stakeholders’ endorsement of President Tinubu was not supposed to be conditional.
“We cannot, as North East APC stakeholders, because our son is the vice president, endorse Asiwaju with a condition. We cannot do that. We are endorsing Asiwaju unconditionally. And given the fact that constitutionally, it is only one ticket we have, we don’t have the vice president ticket. If we put the words in Asiwaju’s mouth and we now say we have endorsed Kashim Shettima, we are putting the cart before the horse,” Mr Salihu said.
Some party stakeholders in the region have accused Mr Salihu of betraying the vice president, a son of the region.
However, the party official clarified that top APC stakeholders from the region at the meeting, including Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, APC North East Campaign Coordinator and convener of the meeting, and Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, also endorsed President Tinubu without mentioning Mr Shettima.
“It may interest you to know that in party politics, we only have one ticket for executives – chairman, governors and president – during the primaries. There is no party guideline or constitution that allows the president to run party primaries with a running mate. It is after the primaries, when the president becomes a candidate, that he will now pick his runningmate, which usually is his prerogative.
“Even though the party may be consulted and other stakeholders may be consulted, it is solely the prerogative of the candidate to choose a running mate. That informed the decision of not only me but the Yobe governor and the Gombe governor. During their speeches, they praised our son (Mr Shettima) and expressed confidence in him, and also endorsed the return of the president,” Mr Salisu explained.
The party chief condemned politicians in the region who allegedly sponsored thugs to the meeting, threatening legal action over the violence perpetrated against him.
“This is not unconnected with the fact that some people are still practising the politics of 1979. Politics has moved from barbarism and decadence. How can you think that bringing such thugs into the summit to threaten people will now show your popularity in the zone?”
However, Mr Salihu said disposition does not mean he is not supporting Mr Shettima.
“We are endorsing Asiwaju unconditionally. We are proud that Kashim is our son; we respect him and we will stand by him. But it is the prerogative of Asiwaju to determine whether Shettima is going to be his running mate or not. We are not endorsing Asiwaju with conditions,” Mr Salihu concluded.
