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.
