Shettima clarifies comment on northern governors’ support for Tinubu

Vice President Kashim Shettima has clarified his recent comments that only six of the 19 northern governors supported President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Shettima’s clarification followed remarks he made on Wednesday at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency said Shettima’s reference to the six governors was limited to political consultations and alignments before the All Progressives Congress presidential primary in June 2022.

Shettima had said, “You all know that we have 19 states in the North. Out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu.”

The Vice President identified former Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and AbdulRazaq as two of the six governors but declined to name the others, saying he wanted to avoid controversy.

He also said Tinubu reconciled with northern governors who did not support his presidential bid after the 2023 election.

“After the 2023 election, President Tinubu hugged and forgave all other northern governors that did not support him. That is a mark of a good leader,” Shettima said.

However, in Thursday’s clarification, Nkwocha said the Vice President’s remarks should not be interpreted to mean that northern APC governors failed to support Tinubu after he emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.

He explained that the reference to the six governors concerned only the political consultations and alignments that took place before the APC presidential primary in June 2022.

“After the primary, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate and played important roles in the campaign that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election,” Nkwocha said.

The Vice President’s office said Shettima holds the northern governors and other APC leaders in high regard and recognises their individual and collective contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s emergence.

Nkwocha added that Shettima regretted any interpretation of his remarks that suggested otherwise, stressing that the clarification was intended to put the comments in their proper context.