Outrage in Borno as APC Leaves Out Shettima’s Photograph at North-East Hearing

Maiduguri witnessed visible anger and discontent on Monday following an incident at the North-East Zonal Public Hearing on the amendment of the All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution, where the image of Vice-President Kashim Shettima was noticeably absent from the official event banner.

The development immediately sparked outrage among party delegates and stakeholders in attendance, many of whom viewed the omission as a deliberate and disrespectful act against the Vice-President. The situation escalated when the Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, openly challenged the organisers during the event, describing the action as unacceptable and capable of creating internal division within the party.

The banner displayed at the venue carried the photographs of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the five APC governors from the North-East geopolitical zone, and the party’s National Legal Adviser. However, Vice-President Shettima’s image was conspicuously missing, despite his position as Nigeria’s second-highest-ranking official and one of the most prominent APC figures from the North-East.

Observers at the event pointed out that the controversy echoed a previous occurrence in Gombe State last year, where a similar exclusion of Shettima’s photograph at an APC function reportedly led to a heated confrontation that eventually disrupted and prematurely ended the meeting.

Speaking to the gathering, Speaker Lawan—recognized as the longest-serving Speaker in Nigeria—expressed deep concern over the omission. He warned that repeating such actions could reignite tensions that the party had previously struggled to contain.

He questioned the rationale behind the decision, stating that the absence of the Vice-President’s image was the same issue that caused unrest in Gombe and was now resurfacing in Borno. While acknowledging that he could not determine the intent of the organisers, Lawan emphasized that such an oversight was inappropriate and damaging.

Lawan further questioned how the image of a sitting Vice-President, who hails from Borno State and represents the North-East zone at the highest level of government, could be excluded from an official party banner at a regional event.

His comments were greeted with loud applause from delegates and party members present, signaling broad dissatisfaction and shared concern over the incident. The reaction underscored the depth of frustration among stakeholders, many of whom viewed the omission as an affront not only to the Vice-President but also to the North-East region as a whole.