Rowdiness greeted the stakeholders meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe recently when leaders of the North-East zone passed a vote of confidence on President Bola Tinubu and endorsed him for a second tenure without a word on the fate of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Shettima, a former Governor of Borno State hails from the zone.
In an online video seen by our correspondent, some participants were seen hurling chairs at one another, while some engaged in a physical exchange of punches, causing chaos, leading to an abrupt end of the meeting.
The stakeholders meeting, which took place on Sunday in Gombe State, was attended by APC governors, ministers, lawmakers, and other prominent leaders from the region, including the National Chairman of the party, Umar Ganduje and some members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
The chaotic situation arose after key party figures, including National Vice Chairman (North-East), Comrade Mustapha Salihu, and National Chairman, Ganduje, failed to mention Vice-President Kashim Shettima while endorsing President Bola Tinubu for a second term.
Pointblanknews.com learnt that tensions flared when Salihu openly endorsed Tinubu as APC’s unopposed candidate for the 2027 presidential election but made no reference to Shettima, who hails from Borno State in the North-East as his running mate.
The omission or silence at it were, provoked a heated response from delegates, some of whom began shouting and threatening physical confrontation. Security operatives quickly intervened and escorted Salihu out of the venue.
In a bid to douse the tension, APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Bukar Dalori, took the podium and offered an endorsement for both Tinubu and Shettima to seek a joint second term.
However, the controversy deepened when Ganduje, in his speech, also omitted Shettima’s name while throwing his weight behind President Tinubu.
Despite speaking for nearly 10 minutes, Ganduje made no mention of the Vice President, prompting further unrest among party loyalists. Like Salihu, he had to be ushered out of the hall under tight security.
The meeting ended abruptly, overshadowed by the apparent internal discord over the perceived sidelining of the Vice President.
Ondopress had earlier reported that Tinubu is under pressure to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima in the re-election ticket.
The report stated that Shettima’s was being traded with a candidate with stronger political machinery like Engr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) who has the political sagacity to block the incursions being made by the mega coalition, hatched by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to weaken the support base of Tinubu in the north and frustrate his re-election bid.
It is believed that the North-East endorsement was a ‘testing of the water’ and a prelude to a bigger plot that will be unveiled by the party in days to come.
