Six governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe State, on Saturday, held a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima over the growing controversy surrounding the party's succession plan ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The aspirants included Hon. Muhammad Ibrahim Bomai; Yobe South Senator Lawan Kolo Geidam; former Director-General of NEMA, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja; former Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba Alkali; Kashim Musa Tumba ,and Bashir Machina.
The closed-door meeting took place at the Vice President's residence in Abuja amid mounting tension over the endorsement of former Secretary to the State Government, Baba Malam Wali, as the APC's preferred governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
Deliberations focused on resolving disagreements triggered by the alleged adoption of Wali and exploring ways to maintain unity within the party.
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During the meeting, VP Shettima reportedly appealed to the group, popularly known as the G-6, to soften its stance against the arrangement and embrace dialogue for the sake of peace and stability in the APC.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the aspirants described the talks as productive and expressed optimism that continued consultations would help resolve the matter peacefully.
"The meeting discussed the current situation on the selection of the APC gubernatorial candidate for Yobe State and the need to find a workable solution," the communiqué stated.
It added that the Vice President appealed to the group to review its position on the choice of Baba Malam Wali as the preferred APC governorship candidate for the state.
According to the communiqué, the aspirants agreed to sustain consultations with relevant stakeholders with the aim of achieving either a consensus arrangement acceptable to all contenders or conducting peaceful direct primaries.
"We agreed to continue further exploratory discussions towards an acceptable consensus process involving all the seven aspirants or peaceful direct primaries in the interest of the people of Yobe State," the statement added.
The group also praised VP Shettima for what it described as his neutrality and commitment to ensuring a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
The succession debate within the ruling APC in Yobe State has in recent weeks attracted significant political attention, with party stakeholders sharply divided over how the governorship candidate should emerge ahead of the 2027 elections.
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