June 15th, 2025
What began as a high-level gathering of All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders from Nigeria’s North-East ended in controversy on Sunday, following the exclusion of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s name in a public endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2027 general elections.
The summit, held in Gombe State, was attended by party delegates from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states. The event featured prominent APC figures including Governors Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Babagana Zulum (Borno), and Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), who collectively commended Tinubu’s leadership and urged the North to support his re-election bid in 2027.
The endorsement, however, took a controversial turn when Mustapha Salihu, the APC Vice Chairman for the North-East, concluded his address by declaring President Tinubu as the sole candidate for 2027 — without mentioning Vice President Shettima.
The omission provoked a sharp reaction from some party members, who interrupted the proceedings with loud protests, demanding that Shettima be acknowledged in the endorsement. Despite Governor Zulum’s effort to restore calm, tensions escalated, prompting security operatives to step in and bring the situation under control.
In a move to douse the tension, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje later addressed the gathering, offering equal praise to both Tinubu and Shettima. His intervention was instrumental in easing the unrest among aggrieved party members.
The row comes in the wake of a similar development on May 22, 2025, when 22 APC governors declared support for President Tinubu’s second-term bid, again, without any mention of Shettima. The silence surrounding the vice president’s political future has raised questions within the party’s rank and file.
Reacting to the endorsements, Borno South Senator Ali Ndume distanced himself from the move. “I pity Tinubu,” he stated, drawing a parallel with former President Goodluck Jonathan, who also secured a similar endorsement by 22 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, yet lost the election to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
The incident highlights emerging tensions within the ruling party, as internal dynamics ahead of the 2027 general elections begin to take shape.
