The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Abdulkarim Lawan, has expressed displeasure over the exclusion of Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s picture from a banner displayed at an All Progressives Congress (APC) event in Maiduguri.
Lawan raised the concern on Monday at the North East zonal public hearing on the amendment of the APC Constitution, currently underway in the Borno State capital.
According to him, the banner featured photographs of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, five APC governors from the North East and the party’s National Legal Adviser, but conspicuously omitted that of the Vice-President.
The speaker described the action as unfair and capable of provoking tension, noting that it was inappropriate to leave out the image of a serving Vice-President, particularly at an event held in his home state.
“This was what led to the fracas in Gombe, and it is happening again here in Borno. I do not understand the organisers’ motive, but it is wrong,” Lawan said.
He recalled that a similar omission had previously triggered a disruption at an APC meeting in Gombe State.
Questioning the organisers’ decision, Lawan asked why the photograph of a sitting Vice-President from Borno and the North East zone was excluded.
His comments were met with loud applause from party members and supporters at the venue.
Governors, party leaders and other APC stakeholders from the North East zone are gathered in Maiduguri for the zonal public hearing, which forms part of the party’s ongoing constitutional amendment process ahead of future political engagements.