Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said only six of the 19 northern governors supported President Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid in the 2023 election.
Shettima spoke on Wednesday at the palace of Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Emir of Ilorin, during the turbaning of AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara, as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate.
He, however, did not name the governors who supported Tinubu’s presidential bid at the time.
Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), polling 8,794,726 votes.
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 6,984,520 votes, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) finished third with 6,101,533 votes.
Before the 2023 presidential election, the APC controlled 14 of the 19 northern states, including Borno, Gombe and Yobe in the north-east; Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara in north-west; and Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa and Niger in the north-central.
The PDP controlled the remaining five states; Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau and Taraba. The vice-president noted that Tinubu faced a difficult political environment during the 2023 presidential election but remained determined to pursue his ambition.
“You all know that we have 19 states in the north. Out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu,” Shettima said.
“Apart from former Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger, seated here, and Malam AbdurRahman AbdulRazaq… to avoid controversy, I will stop naming the names of the other governors.”
“But the governors that were supporting President Tinubu in the north were not more than six. However, Tinubu refused to be deterred. He was able to cross the road.”
He said the experience should teach politicians that electoral disagreements should not permanently divide political actors.
He urged politicians in Kwara to reconcile after the APC primaries, irrespective of whoever emerges as the candidate.
The vice-president said Tinubu demonstrated this approach after the 2023 election by reaching out to northern governors who did not support his presidential bid.
“After the 2023 election, President Tinubu hugged and forgave all other northern governors that did not support him. That is a mark of a good leader,” he said.
Shettima also urged politicians and public officials to serve with humility, saying political offices are temporary.
“Power is given by God to the people He so wishes and not because they are better than other people,” he said.
He said those who occupy public positions would eventually return to ordinary life and should therefore use their time in office to serve the people.
The vice-president also defended the Tinubu administration’s management of the economy, saying the government chose to tackle the challenges it inherited rather than spend its time apportioning blame.
He said the administration inherited about $3.9 billion in its coffers and faced difficult economic circumstances when it assumed office.
According to Shettima, Tinubu remains focused on implementing reforms despite the difficulties confronting the country.
The vice-president also said the president’s political style was influenced by that of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as a politician who would not allow himself to be arm-twisted during political negotiations.
The ceremony was attended by several governors, political leaders, traditional rulers and other dignitaries.
