The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, has urged the Hausa-Fulani communities in Lagos State to support the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, in the forthcoming 2023 election.
Ganduje stated this on Wednesday during a visit accompanied by Shettima, and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the Arewa communities in the Alaba Rago in the Ojo area of the state.
He said, “We are here today with good tidings and we have brought you good news. As far as the Northern part of this country is concerned, the issue of Tinubu presidency is already completed. We are waiting for you Lagosians to come out and support this with your votes.
“In Kano, Asiwaju will get more votes than any state will give him. We challenge you Lagosians to promise us that you will defeat Kano in the choice of Tinubu.”
In his remarks, Shettima noted that the 2023 election would be a payback time for Tinubu in the North, given that he had backed candidates from the North in previous national elections.
“I want to impress on you the importance of the next election. For those of us from the North, this is payback time. In prior electoral cycles, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, supported northern Nigerian candidates for the presidency of Nigeria. In the 2014 and 2015 presidential primaries and subsequent elections, without the voting block from the South-West generated by Asiwaju, President Buhari couldn’t have clinched the presidency of the APC.
“The same was repeated in the 2019 election, now it is payback time. We are people of honour, we should honour our pledge and commitment and most importantly, we want you to vote for APC. For governorship, I want you to come out and vote for Babajide Sanwo-Olu.”
The vice presidential candidate also noted that there where Tinubu sacrificed his personal ambition and offered political sanctuary to Northern political figures, including the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu.
Sanwo-Olu said, “You have seen the good work we are doing in Iba and the infrastructure projects we are delivering in this area. We will be completing the Lagos-Badagry highway soon.
“The stretch towards Okokomaiko is the final work, which will be completed by the end of the year. The General Hospital we are currently building in Iba will also be completed. We will move inside Ojo and take up Kemberi-Afromedia Road.”
In his response on behalf of the community, the Chairman of Arewa people in Lagos, Alhaji Yusuf Badaru, said the Hausa people in Lagos remained committed to the cause of APC and would double their efforts to ensure the party’s candidates in the state got elected.
