Maiduguri: Tension flared in Borno on Monday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) sparked outrage by excluding Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s photograph from a banner at the North-East Zonal Public Hearing on constitutional amendments.
The omission, viewed by many as a slight against the state’s most prominent political figure, ignited anger among party faithful and residents who saw it as a deliberate affront.
The omission of Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s photograph from the APC’s North-East constitutional hearing banner provoked angry reactions from stakeholders and delegates, forcing Borno State House of Assembly Speaker, Abdulkarim Lawan, to denounce what he branded a disrespectful slight against the nation’s number two citizen.
The banner prominently displayed images of President Bola Tinubu, the five APC governors from the zone, and the party’s National Legal Adviser — yet conspicuously excluded Shettima, a towering figure in both the region and the party.
Observers quickly recalled a similar snub in Gombe last year, when Shettima’s image was omitted at another APC event, sparking a fracas that ended the meeting abruptly.
Addressing the gathering, Lawan — Nigeria’s longest-serving Speaker — expressed shock at the repeat incident, warning that such actions risk stoking unnecessary tension within the party.
“Why would the Vice-President’s picture not be included in the banner? This was what created the fracas in Gombe, and it is repeating itself here in Borno. I do not know the motive of the organisers, but it is not right,” he declared to thunderous applause, as delegates voiced their disapproval of the omission.