The group's threat to dump Shettima over the defection wave that has hit the North-East APC camp comes just 40 days before the presidential election in 2023.

According to Nigerianwatch, they lobbied the presidency and the ruling party's leadership to consider zoning the position of running mate to the North-East region in the aftermath of APC standard bearer Bola Tinubu's victory in the presidential primary.

The disgruntled youths, however, reversed their position on Thursday and blamed the former governor of Borno State for the loss of some foundational members of the structure, including Bauchi Zonal Women Leader Amina Manga, who defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party with over one million women.

They also claimed that his snub and casual attitude have consistently undermined their efforts, making Keyamo appear to be blackmailing them.

While disputing the alleged number of North East APC defectors, the PCC image maker stated that their grievances would be addressed.

However, Keyamo's statement did not sit well with the group, which issued a second statement on Saturday denying that their decision was an attempt to blackmail Shettima for money or favors.

The statement, signed and issued in Abuja by its Acting Chairman, Shaibu Tilde, urged the Minister of State for Labour to compare the total number of voters in the region released by the Independent National Electoral Commission to the veracity of their claim.

"In the last 48 hours, the media has been awash with news reports about our position on our great party's Vice Presidential candidate," he said. We wish to reaffirm our position on the issue and state unequivocally that our decision to withdraw our support for our dear party's vice presidential candidate, Sen Kashim Shettima, remains unchanged.

"What has however become a source of worry for our group is the unsavory and scathing attack launched at us by the APC presidential spokesman Barr. Festus Keyamo.

"While we do not intend to join issues with Mr Keyamo, we are obligated to set the record straight in order to mitigate the poignant narrative Mr Keyamo is constructing around our noble group and clear intentions and love for our great party.

"We will continue with that mantra of speaking out to power for the love of our dear party, the All Progressives Congress, regardless of whose ox is gored.

"Firstly, it's clearly manifest that Mr Keyamo does not understand the caliber of youth and the extent of their fibres in the Northeast region of the party and therefore can resort to calling us names as 'cheap blackmailers'. It is unfortunate that our party's spokesman has trained his war machine against his fellow party members in order to win the 2023 election.

"No one can deny that gale of defection our party has suffered in the region in the last few months. Our group was disappointed that the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, rather than reflecting on the important issues we raised that are affecting our party's fortunes in the region, chose to play to the gallery by labeling us blackmailers and attention seekers. This is both unfortunate and shameful.

"Secondly, we would like to remind Mr Keyamo that we are not looking for empty attention or to be pampered. It is critical that Mr. Keyamo understands that this group did not emerge from the blues. We've been on this journey since the beginning. For the record, this organization has spent millions of naira mobilizing support for Sen. Kashim Shettima and, by extension, the APC.

"We have held many press conferences and organised strategic meetings with relevant stakeholders within and outside the North-East region all in support of our great party, APC. How can we now stand by and watch what we have worked for slip away from us when we have the chance to prevent it? We cannot risk an avoidable shipwreck at this time due to the actions of one careless individual. We cannot simply remain silent until the right thing is done for our party.

"Thirdly, Mr Keyamo has blatantly discredited our defection statistics asserting that the entire Northeast region will have nobody to vote for the APC if 8 million voters defect from the party. According to him, the total number of registered voters in the North-East will not reach 8 million, but the most recent figure of registered voters released by the Independent National Electoral Commission shows that the North-East region has 12.5 million voters out of the 93.5 million people registered. As a result, the figure has vindicated us and exposed Mr Keyamo's ignorance and skewed narrative on our ground.

"Finally, it will do our party much good to address the gale of defection it's suffering from the region as a result of the action of our Vice Presidential Candidate Kashim Shettima. Turning a blind eye to complaints will have fatal consequences. We, the North-East APC youth stakeholders, remain committed to our party's and presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's success on February 25."