Folarin Kehinde

Tension gripped Sunday’s All Progressives Congress North‑East stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe after delegates threatened to back former Vice President Atiku Abubakar if current Vice President Kashim Shettima is removed from President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 ticket.

The gathering at the International Conference Centre was intended to reaffirm support for Mr. Tinubu’s second‑term bid, but erupted in chaos when Zonal Vice Chairman Mustapha Salihu concluded his speech without mentioning Shettima. Video footage showed an enraged party member hurling a chair at Salihu as he fled the stage, while another delegate lobbed a plastic bucket in protest.

Salihu had told the audience, “We have no business not supporting this party with all the juicy appointments and responsibilities given to us by this government. I would want all members of the zonal executive committee to stand up so that we will do the proper endorsement, because it is the zonal executive committee that holds the ticket. We want to reaffirm and also adopt the endorsement earlier done by the national working committee, that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is endorsed to be a sole candidate for the 2027 election.”

The omission prompted a chorus of “Shettima! Shettima! Shettima!” and swift intervention by security operatives. “It’s an insult to the entire region that our own son, the Vice President, was not even mentioned,” fumed a Borno delegate. “This is a calculated attempt to sideline Shettima, and we will resist it with everything we have.”

Before the fracas, the governors of Yobe, Borno and Gombe—Mai Mala Buni, Babagana Zulum and Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya—had each voiced their backing for the Tinubu‑Shettima ticket. Governor Yahaya declared, “The North‑East is fully behind the President and the Vice President. Their leadership has brought renewed hope to this region.”

LEADING REPORTERS learned that Despite that show of unity, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje’s closing remarks failed to quell anger. Though he acknowledged Shettima—“we are proud of his deputy, his Vice President, it is one ticket according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”—many delegates remained unconvinced and chanted, “No Shettima, no APC in the North‑East.”

Several threatened mass defection to the Peoples Democratic Party. “If Shettima is dropped, I will personally lead my people to vote for Atiku,” warned an Adamawa chieftain. “We won’t be taken for granted.”

The meeting ended abruptly as dignitaries exited amid shouts and chairs being thrown. Outside, police deployed teargas to disperse hundreds of agitated party faithful. An eyewitness, James Abass, warned, “This is more than just a misunderstanding. It’s a sign of serious internal divisions within the ruling party that could trigger mass defections or the rise of a counter‑movement if not urgently addressed.”

A source familiar with the zonal working committee disclosed that all North‑East NWC members—except Mustapha Salihu—had formally supported Tinubu and Shettima. The lone dissenting voice, the source said, was Salihu himself, against four colleagues who backed the joint ticket.