APC explains exclusion of VP Shettima in President Tinubu’s endorsement
APC explains exclusion of VP Shettima in President Tinubu’s endorsement
The National Vice Chairman (North-East) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mustapha Salihu, has explained his decision to publicly endorse President Bola Tinubu without mentioning Vice President Kashim Shettima, amid speculations of tension within the party.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Monday, Salihu said his decision was based on party tradition and constitutional guidelines.
He noted that during the APC North-East summit held on Sunday in Gombe, endorsements are typically reserved for the party’s presidential candidate, in this case, President Tinubu.
“In my full speech—the last paragraph before the endorsement—I eulogised Kashim Shettima, recognising him as our son and expressing that we stand by him as people of the North-East.
“I also appreciated the national security adviser as our son, whom we are proud of, and acknowledged all the ministers and parastatals given to North-East indigenes, thanking Asiwaju [Tinubu] for that, before calling for the endorsement of him as the sole presidential candidate,” he said.
Salihu stressed that during party primaries, the endorsement process pertains only to presidential aspirants, not their running mates.
“In party politics, we have only one ticket at the primary stage—for the executive chairman, local government chairman, governors, and president. There is no provision in our constitution that allows for the endorsement of a joint ticket at that level.
“It is only after the primaries, when a candidate emerges, that he chooses a running mate. That choice remains the constitutional prerogative of the presidential candidate, even though consultations may occur,” he said.
He explained that this was the same reasoning behind the endorsements by Governors Mai Mala Buni of Yobe and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, who also backed Tinubu without including Shettima, though they acknowledged the vice president warmly as “our own.”
