The emergence of Senator Kashim Shettima as the running mate to All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, has ruffled some feathers within the party.
It was learnt that some APC governors expressed their displeasure at the manner in which Tinubu handled the selection process which led to the emergence of Shettima.
Sources said it took the intervention of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to pacify the governors who were not happy with Tinubu over the matter.
Premium Politics had reported that some APC governors visited Buhari in Daura, Kastina State and paid Sallah homage.
According to PUNCH, some APC governors were said to have preferred Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; or his Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; because of the voting strength of North-West zone.
“At the meeting, the governors expressed their anger over Tinubu’s decision to pick Shettima. It was as if he didn’t even care about the opinion of the governors even though he will rely on them for mobilisation. Buhari, however, pleaded with them to accept Shettima since he is a loyal party member,” said an aide to one of the governors.
A source close to a North-West governor said the governors were all surprised by Tinubu’s announcement.
“We all watched the announcement on television just like every other Nigerian. Tinubu did not discuss this with anyone. He even admitted that he had not informed Shettima of his decision to pick him as running mate. This was not proper at all and the governors made this known,” he said.
An associate of Tinubu also said Tinubu was not supposed to have made the announcement in that manner.
“What happened was just like Tinubu’s announcement at the Presidential Villa in January when he told the media about his intention to contest. Sometimes, he makes these announcements in the spur of the moment. Many of us were shocked,” he added.
