Crisis in the APC: North-East Revolts Over Alleged Plot to Drop Shettima from 2027 Ticket.
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu.
June 17, 2025
What began as a routine political gathering on Sunday in Gombe State has now spiraled into a full-blown crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC), exposing deep fractures and intensifying power struggles ahead of the 2027 presidential election. A storm is brewing in the party’s North-East stronghold — and at the center of it is an alleged plot to remove Vice President Kashim Shettima from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election ticket.
The APC North-East stakeholders’ meeting was expected to reaffirm the party’s strength in the region and consolidate support ahead of 2027. Instead, it triggered outrage, accusations of betrayal, and scenes of physical violence. The tension reached its peak when the APC Zonal Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, delivered a speech conspicuously omitting any mention of Vice President Shettima.
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Party delegates, already suspicious of an undercurrent to sideline the North-East, erupted. Chants of “Shettima! Shettima!!” turned to shouts and then scuffles. An enraged supporter stormed the stage and struck Salihu with a chair, while others hurled bottles and objects, forcing security operatives to restore order in what had become an all-out fracas.
Political insiders and regional stakeholders are now pointing fingers at Salihu, alleging he has been compromised and mobilized to work against the Vice President’s political future. “It is no coincidence,” said one party elder from Bauchi, “that the same man who refuses to endorse our son is also the one causing division at a time when unity is critical.”
Investigations suggest a faction within the party may be quietly scheming to replace Shettima on the 2027 ticket — a move that has ignited fury across the North-East and drawn sharp rebuke from loyalists who see it as both a political miscalculation and a deep personal insult.
Despite public assurances from prominent APC governors such as Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Babagana Zulum (Borno), and Muhammadu Yahaya (Gombe) reaffirming their support for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket, the damage had already been done. The absence of a clear and unequivocal endorsement from the national leadership, particularly from APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, sent a troubling signal.
Ganduje’s speech, laced with diplomatic praise but lacking concrete commitment to Shettima’s candidacy, further stoked the flames. “We are proud that the North-East has produced a Vice President,” he said — but stopped short of confirming Shettima’s place on the 2027 ticket. For many in the room, that was all the confirmation they needed that a plot is indeed unfolding.
Perhaps the most damning moment came when Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Bukar Dalori, tried to pacify the room, only to be drowned out by deafening chants of “No Shettima, no APC!” Delegates, party officials, and grassroots supporters accused the national leadership of taking the North-East for granted.
“This is a calculated insult to this region,” one furious delegate from Borno exclaimed. “We stood by Tinubu in 2023. Without the North-East, there would have been no victory. And now you want to throw our son under the bus?”
As the political temperature rises, cracks within the APC’s northern base are becoming dangerously wide. Several delegates have gone as far as threatening to mobilize support for the opposition if Shettima is removed. A senior chieftain from Adamawa didn’t mince words: “If Shettima is dropped, I will personally lead my people to vote for Atiku. We will not be used and dumped.”
This sentiment is spreading fast across Northern states, where consultations have reportedly begun among grassroots leaders, elders, and political power brokers. Their aim is simple but potentially devastating for the APC: to ensure that any presidential ticket that does not include Kashim Shettima will be rejected wholesale by the North-East in 2027.
The North-East delivered significantly for the APC in 2023, and any erosion of that support base could prove fatal in a tightly contested 2027 election. Shettima is not only a sitting Vice President but also a symbol of northern investment in the current administration. To jettison him now is to risk tearing apart a fragile alliance that delivered electoral success.
Analysts warn that APC risks repeating the mistakes of parties that failed to balance national representation and internal cohesion. If Shettima is replaced — especially through clandestine schemes — it could spark a northern rebellion powerful enough to unseat the APC at the polls.
As 2027 approaches, the APC stands at a dangerous crossroads. The attempt — real or perceived — to sideline Vice President Kashim Shettima has become a lightning rod for discontent, threatening to undo years of coalition-building in the North-East.
What happens next will define the party’s political future: will the APC reaffirm unity and respect for its northern power base — or will internal sabotage, regional marginalization, and political miscalculations lead to a historic collapse?
One thing is clear: without Shettima, the APC may not only lose the North-East — it may lose Nigeria.
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu.
Political Analyst
