2027: APC Faces Internal Crisis as Governor Zulum Protests Tinubu Endorsement Without Shettima

Tensions are mounting within the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, staged a protest on Sunday in response to the party leadership’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for re-election—excluding Vice President Kashim Shettima from the ticket.

During a North-East stakeholders’ gathering held in Gombe State, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje and the party’s North-East National Vice Chairman, Comrade Mustapha Salihu, publicly declared their support for President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid. Notably, their endorsement failed to acknowledge Shettima, who is from the same North-East region and currently serves as Vice President.

The exclusion sparked immediate backlash. Protesters, expressing anger over the slight, compelled security forces to escort Ganduje and Salihu out of the venue. The event subsequently descended into chaos, disrupting proceedings entirely.

Political commentator and public affairs analyst, Abdul-Aziz Na’ibi Abubakar, shared his concern via X (formerly Twitter), stating:

“The APC may have initiated its own undoing. Governor Zulum’s protest against the party’s failure to recognize Kashim Shettima for 2027 signals a deeper internal division.”

This development comes amid ongoing unrest in the North-East, following the controversial endorsement of Tinubu, which sidelined Shettima, a political heavyweight from Borno State.

In a related backdrop, LMSINT MEDIA had previously reported signs of discontent in the region after Tinubu’s name was floated as APC’s sole candidate for 2027, excluding Shettima. This announcement was made by Ganduje at the party’s national summit in Abuja last month.

Adding to the controversy, during Democracy Day celebrations held at the National Assembly, President Tinubu mocked the opposition for lacking unity—comments that may now seem ironic, given the emerging fractures within his own party.