•Says it’s joint ticket and decision to announce running mate belongs to principal partner 

•Kwankwasiyya behind rumour vice president will be dropped from ticket, says party in Kano 

•Ganduje’s aide condemns Gombe attack

North-east Zone of All Progressives Congress (APC) has explained why Vice President Ibrahim Shettima was not mentioned in the open endorsement extended to President Bola Tinubu by the zone on Sunday.

Speaking on Arise news television yesterday, the chairman of APC in the zone, Mustapha Salihu, said it was usually expected that the ticket holder should announce his running mate.

APC had at a meeting in Gombe endorsed Tinubu, but did not mention Shettima for re-election in 2027.

Salihu refused to endorse Shettima alongside the president, a development that led to a rowdy session during the meeting.

There had been questions over Shettima’s fate since party leaders endorsed Tinubu as sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election during APC’s National Summit held last month at the presidential villa in Abuja. This had fuelled speculations that Tinubu might not run with Shettima in 2027.

Sunday’s meeting in Gombe was attended by the APC national chairman, AbdullahiGanduje; the governors of Borno, Yobe and Gombe states, BabaganaZulum, Mai Mala Buni, and InuwaYahaya, respectively; as well as ministers and lawmakers from the North-east.

In attendance, also, were Senator TahirMonguno (APC, Borno North) and APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Ali BukarDalori.

Salihu said regarding Shettima, “We mentioned his name in the communique that I read as the vice national chairman. He is the son of the soil. The ticket is always a joint ticket, but it is always the ticket holder that will mention his running mate.”

Kano State’s APC spokesperson, Ahmad Aruwa, also dismissed claims that the party’s National Chairman, Ganduje, was protested against for failing to mention Shettima’s name during the North-east zonal meeting in Gombe.

Aruwa said the omission was neither a crime nor unusual, pointing out that similar instances occurred at the APC national convention, as well as during endorsements by Senate and House of Representatives, where Shettima’s name was not mentioned without drawing backlash.

In an interview with newsmen, Aruwa said, “There was no booing or protest against Ganduje. As a senior party official, he was simply escorted to his car, that’s all.”

Aruwa also dismissed suggestions of any plan to drop Shettima from the 2027 ticket.

He stated, “What the party chairman said was exactly what was said at the APC national convention. There was no mention of KashimShettima’s name. The Senate reaffirmed its support for Tinubu’s candidacy without mentioning Kashim.

“Likewise, the House of Representatives did the same without mentioning Kashim. So why didn’t anyone protest at that time? When the time comes, both Tinubu and Shettima will be confirmed.

“There has been no official statement suggesting Shettima will be replaced. All of this noise is being stirred up by the Kwankwasiyya movement in Kano because they see that Kashim is engaging with them politically.”

Meanwhile, Ganduje’s Senior Special Assistant on Enlightenment, Oliver Okpala, said the disruption and acts of thuggery and brigandage by some members of the party at the zonal meeting of the North-east APC was totally condemnable, grievously irresponsible and unpatriotic to the current political dispensation in the county.

In a statement, Okpala said, “There is no space for violence in Nigeria’s political space presently, therefore, party members should resort to the civilised tenets of political decency, decorum and comportment in their political activities in the country.”

Reacting to the incident in Gombe, at APC’s North-east zonal meeting, Okpala stated that it was this kind of unwarranted political crisis in the then Western Region, in the First Republic, that developed into a major national crisis that contributed to the collapse of the First Republic.

He stated, “The national chairman of APC is a father to all and since he assumed office he has been working and uniting all members, and showing love to all. His closeness and relationship to the president and vice president is not in doubt, as it is as solid as the rock of Gibraltar.

“Even when Dr. Ganduje tried to diffuse the tension by letting them know that it’s a joint ticket, these individuals whose actions looked recalcitrant by nature failed to see reason to agree with his genuine submission.

“He had emphasised that the North-east produced Nigeria’s number two citizen, and that the APC values the zone. That the president and vice president are a single ticket under the constitution, yet they refused to listen.

“What kind of politicians are these individuals seeking violence with lack of tact to resolving whatever grievances they may have.”