June 15, (THEWILL) – A meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in the North-East ended abruptly on Sunday, following an incident involving Comrade Mustapha Salihu, the party’s National Vice Chairman for the region and the National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Salihu caused an uproar when he endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term, but failed to acknowledge Vice President Kashim Shettima during his speech.
The meeting, held in Gombe State, was attended by nearly all APC ministers, lawmakers and governors from the North-East. Ganduje, also led a delegation of key figures to the event.
When Salihu took the podium, he openly supported Tinubu to run unopposed in the next election. However, his omission of Shettima’s name, a prominent son of Borno State in the North-East, sparked outrage among attendees. As soon as he concluded his remarks, delegates shouted at him. Some hurled insults at him, even threatened physical assault. Security personnel had to intervene and quickly escort him out of the venue.
In an effort to ease the tension, the Deputy National Chairman of APC, Bukar Dalori, stepped in and offered a joint endorsement of both Tinubu and Shettima for a second term.
Despite this attempt at reconciliation, the meeting took another turn when the National Chairman, Ganduje, during his roughly 10-minute address, also endorsed Tinubu without mentioning Shettima.
His speech further aggravated the situation, prompting security operatives to escort him out of the venue of the meeting, too. The event ended abruptly amid the lingering tensions.
THEWIILL recalls that President Tinubu has been endorsed by major stakeholders of the party as the sole Presidential candidate of the APC in the forthcoming 2027 General Election without any reference to Vice-President Shettima. The stakeholders include the Progressives Governors Forum,an APC platform led by Governor Hope Udondinma of Imo State, APC members of the National Assembly, members of the National Working Committee of the party, and the North-West zone.
The North-East incident has further fuelled public perception that Vice President Shettima has been relegated to the background in the presidency.
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