Mustapha Salihu, the All Progressives Congress (APC)
national vice-chairman (north-east), says his endorsement of President Bola
Tinubu for a second term without mentioning Vice-President Kashim Shettima
complies with the party’s constitution.
Salihu spoke during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on
Channel TV’s Politics Today on Monday.
On Sunday, an APC stakeholders’ summit in Gombe descended
into chaos after some speakers endorsed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential
election while omitting Shettima’s name from the ticket.
Salihu was among the top party officials who spoke, and his
failure to acknowledge Shettima sparked immediate outrage from participants at
the summit.
Delegates, visibly angered by the omission, began shouting
and disrupting the meeting, with some issuing threats of violence.
Salihu was escorted out of the venue by security operatives
as tensions flared.
Speaking about the omission, Salihu said, “no party
constitution allows a candidate to go into the primary with a running mate.”
He said the APC has “only one ticket that is for the
president”, adding that it is the “prerogative” of the candidate to pick his
running mate after the primary.
“In party politics, we have only one ticket for the
executive [arms of government]: for the local government chairman, the governor
and the president,” the APC chieftain said.
“No party constitution allows a candidate to go into the
primary with a running mate. Only one ticket that is for the president. It is
only after the president becomes a candidate that he will pick a running mate,
which will be his prerogative.”
Meanwhile, after Salihu was escorted out of the summit, Ali
Bukar, the deputy national chairman, addressed the crowd and endorsed both
Tinubu and Shettima for a second term.
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