By Kolawole Ojebisi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice-chairman (North-east), Mustapha Salihu, has clarified why he endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second time without mentioning his second-in-command, Kashim Shettima, at the party’s stakeholders’ summit in Gombe over the weekend.
Salihu maintained that his decision complies with the party’s constitution, stressing that there’s only one presidential ticket and it’s the prerogative of the candidate to decide his running mate after the primary.
The APC chieftain spoke during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on Channel TV’s Politics Today on Monday night.
Salihu said, “no party constitution allows a candidate to go into the primary with a running mate.
He continued, “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.
“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.” the APC chieftain added.
Recall that on Sunday, the APC stakeholders’ summit in Gombe descended into chaos after some speakers, including the party’s National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, 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.
The omission of Shettima’s name was interpreted by the delegates as a hint that Tinubu will drop their son for another running mate in 2027.
The development irked the delegates who 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.
