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WE’RE MARGINALIZED IN APC – ANPP BLOC
The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) bloc within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has insisted that the vice-presidential slot in the 2027 elections must remain within its fold, asking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to field any candidate outside the bloc.
The ANPP bloc, which claims to be the second most influential pillar in the 2013 merger that birthed the APC, expressed grievances over years of alleged marginalisation. It issued a strong warning that failure to recognise the bloc’s contributions, especially in the composition of the 2027 ticket, could compel it to reconsider its continued stay in the APC
At a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the bloc, operating under the aegis of the Association of Former ANPP Members, demanded inclusivity and fairness from the Tinubu-led administration, noting that their support for the formation and electoral victories of the APC has gone largely unrewarded.
Among those at the press briefing were Prof. Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, former ANPP Deputy National Chairman (South); Dr Ibrahim Moddibo, former ANPP national publicity secretary; Barr. Emma Ibediro, immediate past APC national organising secretary; Barr. Salisu Fagge, former ANPP national legal adviser; Dr Francis Egu, former ANPP national vice chairman (South East); Chief Princess Dickson, former ANPP BoT member; and former state chairmen including Hon. Mustafa Isyaku (Kano), Hon. Jeffrey Yilling (Plateau), Alhaji Yusuf Ali (Yobe), Hon. Mrs Endurance Emo (Lagos), Alhaji Sani Shehu (Bauchi), Alhaji Saidu Inusa (Kano), and Alhaji Nura Kabir (Katsina).
Reading the statement on behalf of the group, its National Coordinator, Prof. Ajumbe, called on President Tinubu to protect the integrity of the power-sharing agreement that birthed the party in 2013.
“The ticket you are serving will be disappointed if you choose another person outside the ANPP bloc as your vice president,” Ajumbe warned.
He said their position was collective and born out of a sincere commitment to the cause of their contributions to the formation of the APC and its eventual success at the polls.
“A few hours ago, we concluded the leadership meeting of the association of former ANPP members of the APC on behalf of millions of our members across the country, where we reviewed issues concerning our membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He said the ANPP bloc in the APC suffered serious political marginalisation and segregation under late President Muhammadu Buhari during his eight-year reign.
“Our ordeal under Buhari was that he wasn’t a well-groomed politician like the incumbent president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who started with politics and rose to his current status in Nigerian politics. If politics is truly about equity, justice and fair play, members of the ANPP bloc in the APC should have been given sensitive political positions under President Buhari, as the second-largest partner in the merger. But we were not—instead, we were subjected to nihility and political redundancy.
“The ANPP bloc in the APC parades seasoned and tested politicians like the Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima; serving governors like Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State; former governors like Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, Senator Yarima Bakura, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, Senator Adamu Aliero, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, Senator Abdulazeez Yari, and Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi; as well as serving and former members of the National Assembly like Senator Ali Ndume, Senator Kawu Sumaila, Senator Barau Jibrin, Senator Mohammed Monguno, Senator Aliyu Lawal, and many members of the House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly.”
He noted that out of all the appointments so far made under the Tinubu-led government—from ministerial to managerial, executive directorship, and other roles—the ANPP bloc in the APC has been conspicuously sidelined.
“The vice presidential seat remains sacrosanct for the former ANPP bloc in the APC as the second-largest contributor to the formation of the APC.
“Since the formation of the APC, the CPC bloc has ruled for eight years under the late President Buhari. The ACN bloc is currently occupying the presidency. Fairness and equity demand that our president should hand over power to the ANPP bloc when his tenure expires in 2031.”
Agitation follows Gombe incident on Shettima’s endorsement
While the bloc did not specifically demand that President Tinubu retains Vice President Kashim Shettima on the 2027 ticket, their agitation comes amid growing concerns over the vice president’s political future, as scheming and permutations for the next presidential election intensify.
Shettima, a prominent figure from the ANPP bloc, is increasingly seen as vulnerable within party circles, with speculations rife that Tinubu may replace him with another candidate in 2027—a move that has stirred anxiety and debate among party stakeholders.
The unease heightened following Shettima’s exclusion from a wave of endorsements recently given to Tinubu for re-election, culminating in a tense standoff during the APC North East stakeholders’ summit held in Gombe in June.
Although party leaders from the region eventually endorsed the Tinubu-Shettima joint ticket, the endorsement came only after a rowdy session triggered by the refusal of the APC National Vice Chairman (North East), Salihu Mustapha, to mention Shettima alongside the president.
Prior to the Gombe summit, questions had already been mounting after several chieftains at last month’s APC National Summit in the Presidential Villa openly backed Tinubu’s re-election bid—without extending the same to his deputy.
The development fuelled speculation that President Tinubu may be considering alternatives to Shettima as his running mate. Political observers cited several theories: that the vice-presidential slot could be given to a northern Christian to appease voters aggrieved by the Muslim-Muslim ticket; that it could serve as a bargaining chip to bring New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) presidential candidate Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso into the APC fold; or that the slot might go to one of two serving governors from the North West. Another theory held that while the ticket might remain in the North East, a new candidate from the region could be picked.
Before the national summit, APC leaders from the North West and North Central had also endorsed Tinubu for re-election, but again, Shettima’s name was missing from their declarations.
At the Gombe summit, however, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum reaffirmed the earlier position of stakeholders from the state and called on Tinubu to retain Shettima as his running mate in 2027.
CPC bloc’s agitation for APC’s national chairmanship
The unease surrounding Shettima’s political future also coincided with earlier agitation by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc within the party, demanding the national chairmanship slot following the sudden resignation of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Although Professor Nentawe Yilwatda has been confirmed as the substantive national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the CPC faction had lobbied strongly for one of its leading figures, Senator Tanko Al-Makura, to be considered for the position.
Analysts said this push by the CPC bloc reflected growing discontent among its members, many of whom believe they have been sidelined in the party’s power structure under the Tinubu administration. The agitation intensified after a group of CPC loyalists threatened to withdraw their support for the party, citing what they described as systemic marginalisation.
The internal tensions have been exacerbated by the recent exit of several prominent CPC-linked figures from the APC. These include former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN); and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
Their departure, which followed a meeting with former President Muhammadu Buhari, has fuelled speculation that more high-profile exits may follow unless the grievances of the bloc are addressed.
While some former CPC elements have already left, others have stayed back—though they continue to voice concerns over what they describe as exclusionary practices. These members have urged the APC leadership to move swiftly to address the bloc’s demands in order to forestall further defections and disintegration of party cohesion ahead of the 2027 general election
Choice of VP is Tinubu’s prerogative – Ali Modu Sheriff
However, former Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, a founding figure in the ANPP bloc, dismissed the demands made by the group advocating for the vice-presidential slot in 2027, insisting they do not speak for the bloc.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Sheriff maintained that the choice of running mate remains the sole prerogative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I just saw the picture,” Sheriff said, reacting to reports of the group’s demand. “I don’t know any member. These people—Ajumbe, the person who was speaking—left us long before. He doesn’t have a job. He’s just trying to get attention. Apart from that, I don’t know anybody there.”
He added that the ANPP bloc remained united and had not declared any formal position on the 2027 vice-presidential ticket. “We are not fighting. We don’t have a crack. If they have an interest in talking something like this, I said that we want to sit with the President and talk to him.”
On the uproar at the APC North East stakeholders’ summit in Gombe, Sheriff described the incident as unfortunate but said it had no bearing on the position of the party.
“Whatever happened in Gombe has nothing to do with the APC as a party,” he said.
He dismissed the notion that the ANPP bloc could dictate the choice of running mate, stating, “Those saying the ANPP bloc must have the vice-presidential slot in 2027 are just talking for themselves. The APC is a national party, not a bloc party.”
Sheriff underscored that the decision rests entirely with the president.
“The choice of who becomes the vice president in 2027 is the exclusive right of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is his constitutional right, and nobody can dictate that to him. The party will support whoever he chooses.
“Asiwaju is the leader of the party, and we all know how he has carried everyone along. No one has the right to force him on the issue of a running mate.”
He further downplayed the effect of any dissenting voices or potential defections on the president’s re-election bid, noting that only two scenarios could stop Tinubu in 2027.
“The only thing that will stop President Tinubu from winning election in 2027 are two factors. One, if there is no election in Nigeria. Two, if he decides not to run. Otherwise, politically, I look at reality. You see, politics, you have to study politics,” he said.
Analysts warn of internal cracks
Contextualising the development, Dr Abubakar Kari, a political scientist, said the demand by the ANPP bloc only reinforces suspicions surrounding the political fate of Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of the 2027 elections.
“So, this is a response to that widely held belief. It also shows that Shettima and his people are fighting back,” he said.
Kari, a senior lecturer in political economy at the University of Abuja, said the agitation by the ANPP and CPC blocs demonstrates that the APC still grapples with its legacy affiliations and unresolved internal dynamics.
He advised President Tinubu and the newly appointed national chairman to act swiftly to manage these tensions.
Also commenting, Professor Kamilu Sani Fage of Bayero University, Kano, described the unfolding scenario as a “costly political gamble” for President Tinubu, should he decide to drop Shettima.
He said the APC remains a fragile coalition built on delicate political interests, and dismissing any of the blocs could have far-reaching electoral consequences.
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Fage warned that such internal contradictions, if not carefully managed, could fracture the unity of the ruling party.
“While it is true that the choice of a running mate is the president’s prerogative, it is politically necessary for him to take these blocs into account in order to preserve party cohesion,” he added.
On his part, the National President of the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), Professor Hassan Saliu, said the current agitation is reflective of political manoeuvring by various blocs aiming to secure relevance in the 2027 project.
He said Ali Modu Sheriff is within his rights to take a stance, but noted that personal history might be influencing some of his remarks.
“We must not forget that Sheriff had a political battle with Shettima when he wanted to go for a second term as governor of Borno State. The current president assisted Shettima back then, and he has publicly acknowledged that. Maybe Sheriff is now trying to come back to political reckoning by aligning with President Tinubu.”
Saliu also pointed out that the electoral returns from the North-East in 2023, where Shettima hails from, were not particularly impressive.
“Tinubu wants a second term, and he is doing his calculations, which have already produced a casualty in Ganduje. Shettima and others are also calculating,” he added.
He said that while no individual is indispensable, any disagreement between the president and his deputy must be carefully handled to avoid destabilising the presidency.
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He also hinted that Shettima may be a victim of political intrigues within the president’s inner circle.
He advised the vice president to reposition himself politically if he hopes to survive the ongoing power play.
Saliu concluded with a reminder from recent Nigerian political history.
“Even if he survives this one, how Shettima plays his cards will determine whether he gets the president’s anointing or not. And the story of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is still fresh. He should learn from that.”
