Shettima embarrasses Ganduje in Akwa Ibom Amid Growing Rift Over 2027 VP Ticket

Shettima embarrasses Ganduje in Akwa Ibom Amid Growing Rift Over 2027 VP Ticket

 

 

Tensions within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) reached a boiling point on Saturday as Vice President Kashim Shettima pointedly refused to shake hands with the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, in what many see as a public display of dissatisfaction amid a growing rift over the 2027 presidential running mate ticket.

 

 

The incident occurred during a reception in honor of Governor Umo Eno, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

While exchanging pleasantries with a row of dignitaries, Shettima shook hands with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Governor Eno but noticeably bypassed Ganduje, leaving observers stunned and murmuring.

 

The calculated omission, captured in a video obtained by The Whistler, is widely seen as a political message from the Vice President amid growing speculation about his future on the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.

 

Political Undercurrents

 

The handshake snub is the latest in a string of developments pointing to internal discord within the APC. Just days earlier, at the party’s North East Stakeholders Consultative Meeting in Gombe, a heated controversy erupted after Shettima was excluded from the party’s public endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid.

 

Notably, APC’s National Vice Chairman (North East), Comrade Mustapha Salihu, failed to mention Shettima’s name during his address, sparking chants of “Shettima! Shettima!!” from aggrieved delegates. The protest escalated into a violent confrontation when a Shettima loyalist stormed the stage and physically accosted Salihu, prompting chairs to be thrown and forcing several high-profile attendees to exit the venue abruptly.

 

Despite the chaos, some key APC governors from the North East—Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Babagana Zulum (Borno), and Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe)—voiced their support for the Tinubu/Shettima ticket. Yet, the silence from Ganduje during his own speech at the event, where he also failed to reference Shettima, has deepened suspicion of a coordinated move to edge the Vice President out of the 2027 equation.

 

Northern Backlash

 

The unfolding drama has triggered growing unrest within the North East, Shettima’s stronghold. Reports from the region suggest that several party delegates are threatening mass defections if Shettima is sidelined. Chants of “No Shettima, no APC in the North East” were heard at the Gombe meeting, while others reportedly expressed readiness to throw their support behind opposition leader and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

 

Party insiders suggest that some APC factions are pushing for a Christian northerner to replace Shettima on the 2027 ticket—a move that could further strain the party’s delicate religious and regional balancing act.

 

Silence from the Top

 

As of press time, neither Shettima nor Ganduje had issued a statement regarding the Akwa Ibom incident. Repeated efforts to reach their respective spokesmen were unsuccessful. The Presidency has attempted to downplay the rift, but sources close to the matter confirm that the 2027 succession plan has become a source of mounting tension.

 

With internal divisions deepening and the 2027 elections looming, the APC faces a critical juncture. The question now is whether the party can reconcile its warring factions—or whether Saturday’s snub is a harbinger of an eventual split.