Vice-President Kashim Shettima says Northern Nigeria has nothing to fear from President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, urging regional leaders to support his bid for a second term.
Mr Shettima made the declaration on Monday in Abuja when he received a delegation from Arewa for Tinubu (A4A), a northern-based think tank.
He urged northern leaders and citizens to unite behind Mr Tinubu’s re-election bid, describing the administration’s second-term agenda as crucial to the region’s prosperity and stability.
The vice-president said the North’s progress and well-being remained priorities for the administration, citing appointments, projects and programmes benefiting the region.
He said, “The North has no reason to be scared of the re-election of President Tinubu. Let’s unite as a people and work for the development of our region and the progress of our people through the re-election of this administration.
“We are benefiting, and we stand to benefit more from this government in many ways. The Bank of Agriculture has disbursed N450 billion to 700,000 smallholder farmers in Nigeria, and about 70 per cent of the beneficiaries are from the North.
“The present administration is working toward completing landmark and groundbreaking projects in parts of the country. I can assure you that the president loves the North and will work for the region.”
He thanked the group for its consistent support for Mr Tinubu and urged its members to intensify mobilisation across wards, communities and local government areas.
The group’s director-general, former Governor Abubakar Badaru, said A4A would remain committed to securing the North’s support for Mr Tinubu’s re-election.
Mr Badaru said the organisation planned to engage religious leaders, including Muslim and Christian clerics, alongside other prominent Nigerians, to explain the need to support the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in 2027.
He said, “On discussions with high-profile individuals, we have gone far. We have met them several times, and the Board of Trustees is meeting them again to consolidate our gains and explain why there is a need to support this ticket.”
He said A4A was also supporting the Presidential Campaign Council with specific grassroots mobilisation activities.
“We are also supporting the Presidential Campaign Council with whatever they want us to do that is micro in nature because they are so big,” Mr Badaru said.
He added that the group intended to concentrate on grassroots contacts across local government areas and wards to complement the campaign council’s broader activities.
The organisation’s board of trustees chairman and former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau said A4A had worked for Mr Tinubu’s election in 2023.
Mr Shekarau assured that the group would repeat the effort in 2027, adding that it had been engaging northern governors and other stakeholders to explore areas of collaboration. He said the organisation had concluded plans to establish a full-fledged secretariat to coordinate its activities.
“We will have offices for directors and state coordinators to compare reports, analyse them and give instructions to our members,” he said.
Mr Shekarau formally invited the vice-president to inaugurate the A4A office complex on October 17.