National Vice Chairman (North-East) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mustapha Salihu, has said that it was unconstitutional to endorse a presidential aspirant and their deputy when the party’s primary election has not been conducted.
He said this while providing clarification as to why he publicly endorsed President Bola Tinubu and did not include Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The clarification, according to him, becomes necessary amid growing rumours of internal friction within the ruling party.
Salihu told Channels Television on Monday that his decision to omit the Vice president from the endorsement at the APC North-East summit in Gombe was deliberate and in line with the party’s convention and constitutional provisions.
According to him, he acknowledged and eulogised the VP in his full speech and even declared their support for him.
“In party politics, we have only one ticket at the primary stage— for the executive chairman, local government chairman, governors, and president. There is no provision in our constitution that allows for the endorsement of a joint ticket at that level,” he said.
“It is only after the primaries, when a candidate emerges, that he chooses a running mate,” he added.
He said that it was only the presidential candidate who has the sole decision to make on who becomes his Vice presidential candidate.
He pointed out that governors such as Mai Mala Buni of Yobe and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe had earlier endorsed Tinubu without mentioning Shettima.
The APC leader played down rumours of a rift between Tinubu and Shettima.
“These kinds of rumours are inevitable in every administration,” he said.
