Vice President Kashim Shettima says northerners should ensure the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.
He said it should be a reward for Tinubu for his consistency in supporting politicians from the north.
Speaking on Saturday at the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential campaign launch in Kaduna, Shettima said, "Tinubu had consistently supported politicians from the north, including former President Muhammadu Buhari."
According to the Vice President, ensuring the re-election of Tinubu in 2027 would be fair for the region to reciprocate the support the President had shown to northerners for some years.
He added that he and other politicians from the region have come to ask northerners and Nigerians to renew their mandate from top to bottom.
He said Tinubu had at one time supported and provided a platform for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to contest the presidency in 2007 after his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and supported the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu when he contested the presidency on the platform of ANC.
Shettima also explained how Tinubu canvassed support for late President Buhari during his presidential campaigns in 2015 and 2019, saying that he personally ensured he sought the support of other Nigerians for Buhari to be victorious.
Shettima defended the Tinubu-led administration, maintaining that it had delivered on its promises across key sectors, stressing that electing Tinubu in 2027 is a mark of honour and northerners should have faith in a man who solidly stood for the region.
He cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the transition to the Federal University of Education in Zaria and the establishment of a state vocational institute in Rigachikun and other parts of Kaduna State as well as the Federal Medical Centre, Kafanchan as examples of the administration’s achievements in the state.
Shettima also explained that the present administration has registered substantial progress on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the Kano-Maradi railway, the Lagos-Kano rail corridor, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road and other areas in northern Nigeria.
He assured that the administration is advancing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway that would open up a vista of opportunities for agricultural production in this country, pointing out that more projects will definitely come the way of the region when voted into power in 2027.