APC’s National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, has said that President Bola Tinubu has the constitutional authority to choose his running mate for the 2027 elections. This is coming 2 days after he narrowly escaped a violent mob attack at the All Progressives Congress North-East stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe.
Speaking during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Salihu disclosed that a joint ticket during party primaries is a myth.
According to him, during the primaries, only the presidential candidate emerges, and whoever the person is will have the sole right to choose who his running mate will be ahead of the elections.
He reiterated that while party consultations are normal for selecting a running mate, the ultimate decision lies solely with the presidential candidate.
“There is no such thing as a joint ticket during party primaries.
Only the presidential candidate emerges, and it is entirely his prerogative to choose a running mate — after he becomes the flagbearer,” Salihu said.
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Reacting to being attacked on stage for omitting Vice President Kashim Shettima’s name in his endorsement speech for Tinubu, Salihu stressed that he did not do it on purpose.
He revealed that the part of his speech that was dedicated to hailing the Vice President was set to be delivered just before the incident.
He concluded by urging APC members to disregard rumours of a rift between President Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, emphasising that they are only meant to create confusion.
“The last paragraph of my speech before the fracas was dedicated to eulogising Kashim Shettima.
I said he is our son and that we in the North-East stand solidly behind him.
Some people thrive on creating tension. We call them ‘crisis entrepreneurs’ — they manipulate situations like this to create confusion and benefit from it.
These rumours are inevitable, especially as elections draw near.
Party business isn’t conducted on the platforms of social media or pages of newspapers. We operate through the party office. These rumours are simply not reflective of the reality within the party,” he added.
