Shettima to Northerners: Tinubu Stood by Buhari — It’s our Turn to Repay Him

Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged voters in the north to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, citing his backing of northern political leaders, including former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shettima spoke on Saturday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna, where he asked voters to renew the party’s mandate at all levels.

“We have come to ask you to renew a second time for the APC from top to bottom,” he said.

The vice-president noted that Tinubu had consistently supported northern political figures and deserved similar backing from the region.

He recalled Tinubu’s support for Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, after his fallout with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying the former Lagos governor provided him with political support and a platform to contest the presidency in 2007.

Shettima also cited Tinubu’s support for Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and current national security adviser, in the 2011 presidential election.

He said Tinubu subsequently stood behind Buhari during his successful presidential campaigns in 2015 and 2019.

“And you can bear witness that in 2015 and 2019, President Tinubu stood solidly behind the late President Muhammadu Buhari, throughout his first and second term victories. This is a mark of honour and our faith in a man of honour,” he said.

The vice-president also defended the Tinubu administration’s record in Kaduna, saying the government had delivered on promises relating to education and infrastructure.

He said the administration had sought to restore Kaduna’s reputation as a centre of learning through the establishment and upgrading of federal institutions.

“First and foremost, we promised to bring back the glory of Kaduna state as the nation’s centre of learning,” he said.

Shettima cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia and the transition to the Federal University of Education in Zaria as examples of the administration’s efforts.

He also mentioned the establishment of a state vocational institute in Rigachikun, which he said had produced more than 4,000 graduates.

The vice-president also cited funding provided to students through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying hundreds of thousands of students at universities had benefited from the scheme.

Shettima said the Tinubu administration had continued projects initiated by previous governments, particularly in transportation and energy infrastructure.

“This is why we have registered substantial progress on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline the Kano-Maradun railway, the Lagos-Kano rail corridor, and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road,” he said.

“We are advancing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway that will open up a vista of opportunities for agricultural production in this country. And I want us to bear in mind and go down the past.

“We are also advancing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway that will open up a vista of opportunities for agricultural production in this country.”

Shettima urged northerners to consider Tinubu’s record of political support for the region and the administration’s infrastructure projects as they prepare to vote in 2027.

He noted that the APC deserved another mandate and called for support for the party’s candidates from the presidency to state assemblies.