The APC National Vice Chairman (North-East), Salihu Mustapha, said he had to run away from the venue of the party’s summit in Gombe for not endorsing Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Tinubu’s running mate.
Mustapha, who disclosed this to Trust TV, added that he was only being guided by the party’s procedures for candidate nomination.
“I had to defend myself. I called in my security detail and fought my way out. If not for the few boys shielding me—and my own strength—I could have been lynched,” he said.
“They tried to attack me, but I defended myself. Even amid the chaos, I told the governor, ‘Tell your people to stop.’ Because I can defend myself—I’m militarily trained and experienced in handling situations like this,” he added.
Mustapha ended his speech without endorsing the Vice President, which sparked a rowdy session.
He accused a Borno State politician of causing the chaos to further strain his relationship with Shettima.
According to him, by the party’s constitutional provision, he has no power to name a running mate during candidate nomination. “Politics today is about popular participation and stakeholder consensus. It’s about lobbying and building trust—not intimidation.
“Anyone truly loyal to a leader or political system should understand that once the party’s presidential candidate is endorsed, no one should take offense. Constitutionally—and I’m tired of repeating this—check the constitutions of all political parties in Nigeria. There is no provision for selecting a running mate during primaries.
“The endorsement at the National Summit was for the presidential ticket. We’re not INEC. We’re not the general electorate. Our mandate is to decide who becomes the party’s flagbearer. That’s where our role ends.”
He said picking a running mate is the responsibility of the flagbearer, after due consultation with the party and other stakeholders.
“So, it’s counterproductive for us as a zone to try and force the issue, especially without first approaching the president in humility to say, ‘We’re here to consult and urge you to pick your running mate from our region.’
“If the president responds favorably, we can then return and say, ‘We’re endorsing the president and our zone.’ That’s respectful. But trying to force his hand or chanting slogans like ‘No Shettima, no Asiwaju’ in the hall—that’s blackmail.
“And that’s not the position of the Northeast. Not at all,” he said.
He said Governor Zulum’s making Shettima’s inclusion a condition for endorsing Tinubu was not the position of the Northeast.
“The stakeholders I consulted across five states in the region are endorsing Asiwaju unconditionally—without preconditions—while still expressing confidence in and solidarity with the vice president.”
He said Governor Zulum had insisted on including Shettima in the endorsement but said the party leadership explained why it could not adopt that position.
“I told him plainly: this was the general sentiment gathered from all the stakeholders we engaged,” he said, adding that rumors about Shettima being replaced in 2027 were part of a familiar pattern in Nigerian politics.
“Whether it’s a president and vice president, governor and deputy, or local government chairman and vice chairman—it’s always the same.
“There are intermediaries, conflict profiteers, who insert themselves between both camps and relay conflicting messages. They thrive on stoking tension and mistrust. It has been a recurring pattern in almost every administration throughout our political history,” he said.
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