Delegates to the North-East zonal consultative meeting have said they would not allow President Bola Tinubu to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima for another person while running for another term.

  The delegates, who regretted that what they had been hearing as a rumour was playing out in their presence, stressed that in 2027, the people of old North-Eastern State would make Tinubu to understand that North-East is a zone to be used to play Lagos politics.

  A distraught delegate to the meeting, which held, yesterday, in Gombe State, regretted that security agents did not allow them to teach the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, some home lessons.

  The delegate, who spoke to The Guardian in confidence, explained that the uproar at the meeting was because they learnt that the APC Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, was coming with some unfriendly message for the zone.  Matters took a turn for the worse after Salihu, while delivering his address, skipped the mention of Shettima in Tinubu’s second-term ticket.

  Although Salihu received verbal attacks for his failure to mentionShettima as Tinubu’s running mate, the crowd became very unruly and uncontrollable when Ganduje repeated what many thought was an oversight.

  “It was when Ganduje delivered his speech that it became obvious that APC leaders want to drop Shettima from the presidential ticket, and our people showed them that it would not be an easy decision to make,” said a former commissioner in one of the North-East states.

  Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of North-East Governors’ Forum (NEGF), Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, noted that the region had always played a crucial role in the politics of Nigeria.

  Buni recalled the positive beliefs he nursed for APC all through his two terms as the National Secretary of APC and national chairman in acting capacity, stressing that APC still holds the promise of greater things for the country.

   While appreciating Ganduje for attending the meeting in person, the Yobe governor explained that the consultative meetings were created as zonal platforms to take stock and analyse the achievements and challenges of the party as a mid-term self-assessment. 

  “I seize this opportunity to congratulate us on APC’s 10 years of leadership in Nigeria and Africa’s largest political party. However, it is important to note that this achievement is not a coincidence, but a product of careful and strategic planning, focused leadership and giving members a sense of belonging.

  “Therefore, it is important for us to continue promoting the values that unite us, address the few wranglings, give party supporters a sense of belonging and improve our reward system,” Buni stated. 

  Recall that former governorship candidate of APC in Kebbi State, Salihu Nataro, had pleaded with President Tinubu to focus on re-jigging his cabinet rather than raising the issue of who would serve as his running mate in 2027.