Why we omitted Shettima’s name from Tinubu’s 2027 endorsement in Gombe – APC vice-chairman

Mustapha Salihu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national vice-chairman for the north-east, has defended his decision to endorse President Bola Tinubu for a second term without mentioning Vice-President Kashim Shettima. He explained that his action was in line with the party’s constitution.

Salihu made this clarification on Monday while speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

The controversy started on Sunday at an APC stakeholders’ summit held in Gombe, where some party leaders openly endorsed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential race but left out Shettima’s name from the ticket.

The omission sparked a chaotic reaction from delegates at the meeting, with angry members disrupting the event and threatening violence. Salihu, one of those who spoke at the summit, was escorted out of the venue by security officers as the situation escalated.

Addressing the issue, Salihu said, “No party constitution permits a candidate to go into the primary with a running mate.”

“The party has only one ticket, which is for the president. It is the exclusive right of the candidate, after winning the primary, to select a running mate.”

He explained that within the party structure, only one executive ticket exists for each level of government, for the president, governor, or local government chairman, and the running mate is chosen later.

Following the uproar, the APC’s deputy national chairman, Ali Bukar, later stepped forward to calm the gathering by endorsing both Tinubu and Shettima for a second term.