Drama as Ganduje, APC North-east leader endorse Tinubu but mum on Shettima

A drama unfolded on Sunday in Gombe at a meeting of the North-east leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and Mustapha Salihu, the national vice chairman of the party in the zone, refused to endorse Vice President Kashim Shettima for a second term.

The drama intensified after the two top party officials refused to endorse Mr Shettima for renomination as President Tinubu’s running mate.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier that the leaders were due to gather in Gombe to review the party’s prospects and also endorse their son, Mr Shettima, for a second term alongside President Bola Tinubu.

The Yobe State Governor, Mala Buni, called the meeting amid speculation of a plot against Mr Shettima’s retention on the ticket.

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According to a Daily Trust newspaper report, Messrs Salihu and Ganduje refused to mention Mr Shettima’s name in their speeches.

Their actions irritated some delegates at the meeting, who attempted to confront the duo as security aides escorted them to their vehicles.

The meeting was attended by virtually all ministers, lawmakers, and governors of the party from the North-east region.

However, the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Bukar Dalori, endorsed both Messrs Tinubu and Shettima for reelection.

Mr Shettima’s situation brings back memories of when officials of the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party at a stakeholders meeting endorsed the then-President Olusegun Obasanjo for reelection but were silent on the fate of his vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who was not at the meeting held in Mr Obasanjo’s residence in Ota, Ogun State.

In a 2002 BBC interview, Atiku said that he was considering whether to run for president or back someone else until Mr Obasanjo announced just before voting started at the party’s national convention that he would pick Atiku again as his running mate.

ALSO READ: Borno APC leaders urge Tinubu to retain Shettima as running mate in 2027

The pair won reelection in 2003 but spent most of their second term quarrelling, culminating in the PDP expelling the vice president, who fled to the Action Congress to run for president in 2007.

The then-Katsina governor, Umaru Yar’Adua, was nominated as the PDP candidate and defeated Atiku and others in the poll.

However, President Tinubu has never made a public statement that indicates a falling out with his deputy, who played a crucial role in his victory at the 2022 APC presidential primary.