A meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in the North-East, where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was yesterday endorsed for a second-term election, was nearly marred by angry stakeholders who
protested the exclusion of Vice President Kashim Shettima as running mate for 2027.
The Gombe State meeting was attended by the party’s bigwigs in the zone, including governors, ministers, national and state assembly members, as well as national and state party leaders.
APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Bukar Dalori, led other officials of the party to the gathering.
Trouble started when the APC’s National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term, excluding Shettima, who is from the zone.
In his address, Salihu made no mention of Shettima, a development that did not go down well with Shettima’s loyalists.
After Salihu’s speech, aggrieved delegates began hurling insults and threatening physical confrontation.
It took the intervention of security personnel at the venue, who escorted Salihu out to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
Efforts to calm frayed nerves by Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Bukar Dalori, did not yield results as the charged atmosphere persisted. Dalori too had to be escorted out of the hall under security protection as protests continued. He was forced to later issue a joint endorsement of both President Tinubu and Vice-President Shettima for a second term.
It was learnt that Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, was equally unhappy with the development, noting that it has the capacity to sow cracks within the ranks of the ruling party in the North East zone.