From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that President Bola Tinubu has never abandoned northern Nigeria, insisting that his longstanding political loyalty to the region and developmental interventions have justified the call for his re-election in 2027.
Speaking on Saturday at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna, Shettima urged northerners to reciprocate Tinubu’s support for prominent northern political leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Vice President recalled that when Atiku faced political difficulties within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tinubu provided him with political support and a platform to contest the 2007 presidential election, while also supporting Ribadu’s presidential ambition in 2011 and Buhari’s presidential bids in 2015 and 2019.
” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one person who has quite clearly identified with the North over the years. When former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was harassed and chased out of the PDP, who stood by him? He ran to the man who gave him political succour and support and a platform to contest for the presidency of this country in 2007,” Shettima said.
He added: “Again in 2011, President Tinubu supported another northern man, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to contest for the presidency of this country. And you can bear witness that in 2015 and 2019, President Tinubu stood solidly behind the late President Muhammadu Buhari. He secured him a second-term victory.”
Shettima maintained that Tinubu had demonstrated his commitment to northern Nigeria through the continuation of major infrastructure projects initiated by previous administrations, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, Kano-Maradi Railway, Lagos-Kano rail corridor, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road and Sokoto-Badagry Highway.
He said the administration had also expanded educational opportunities in Kaduna State through the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, the Federal University of Education, Zaria, and vocational training institutions in Rigachikun, Soba and Samaru Kataf, which he said had produced over 4,000 graduates, alongside student loan interventions benefiting hundreds of thousands of students.
The Vice President equally commended Governor Uba Sani for promoting peace, unity and inclusive development in Kaduna State, saying his leadership had helped bridge longstanding divisions and fostered brotherhood among residents of different ethnic, religious and geographical backgrounds.
“His wisdom has made Kaduna State a place unified, a place where the man from Zonkwa sees the man from Zaria as a brother. A place where the dividends of our democracy are felt in Kachia as they are in metropolitan Kaduna. This is the legacy of the APC in Kaduna State,” he declared.
Shettima insisted that the APC had demonstrated its commitment to northern Nigeria through sustained investment in infrastructure, education and economic development, urging the region to remember Tinubu’s past political support for northern leaders and reciprocate his loyalty in the 2027 presidential election.