ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is grappling with internal discord following a contentious endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for re-election in 2027—an announcement that conspicuously excluded Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Tensions came to a head on Sunday during the APC North-East stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe, where Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum led a vocal protest. Zulum decried what he described as a “deliberate slight” against Shettima, the region’s highest-ranking official in the federal government and a former governor of Borno State.
The endorsement, championed by APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje and the party’s North-East Vice Chairman Mustapha Salihu, made no mention of Shettima. The omission sparked outrage among delegates, leading to a chaotic scene in which security personnel were forced to escort Ganduje and Salihu out of the venue under tight protection.
Observers say the fallout may deepen existing divisions within the party, particularly in the politically strategic North-East. “The beginning of APC’s downfall has just begun,” political commentator Abdul-Aziz Na’ibi Abubakar wrote on X, referencing Zulum’s open frustration with the perceived sidelining of Shettima.
The backlash follows a similar episode last month at the APC national summit in Abuja, where Ganduje publicly declared Tinubu the party’s sole candidate for 2027—once again without addressing Shettima’s role.
Sources close to the North-East caucus indicate growing unease that Shettima may be edged out ahead of the next electoral cycle, despite his key role in the Tinubu-Shettima ticket that secured victory in 2023.
Amid the controversy, Tinubu’s recent Democracy Day remark aimed at opposition parties—“It’s my pleasure to see you in disarray”—has been turned back on his own administration, as critics cite emerging signs of disunity within the APC itself.
With just two years until the next general election, party insiders warn that failure to resolve the issue could lead to deeper fractures in the APC’s power structure.
