Vice-President Kashim Shettima says the road that led the north to support President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election did not happen by chance.
In June 2022, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors from the north asked presidential aspirants from the region to withdraw from the race in the interest of the nation.
Aminu Masari, then governor of Katsina, said the northern governors supported Tinubu’s presidential bid to honour the principle of zoning.
Speaking in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, on Thursday, Shettima said before contesting for the presidency, Tinubu had backed three northerners, including Muhammadu Buhari, former president, for the same seat.
The vice-president praised Tinubu for sacrificing his resources and goodwill for Nigeria’s democracy.
“The road that led us to Bola Tinubu did not happen by chance. This is a man who has shown a profound commitment towards improving governance in this nation,” he said.
“He has shown zeal, passion, knowledge, and capacity. I am a son of the north, and we were one of the first sets of leaders that canvassed for support for Asiwaju. When many of his contemporaries were struggling to have a seat at the dinner table in Abuja, he was sacrificing his resources, and his goodwill towards the enthronement of democracy in this country.
“Four years later, the same Asiwaju supported another northerner to contest for the presidency of this nation. He is currently the NSA—Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Without the support of Asiwaju, former President Muhammadu Buhari could not have emerged as a candidate for the APC, and without the support of the south-west, he could not have won the 2015 election.”
Shettima said the 2023 presidential election was a payback time for Tinubu.
“I will say 2023 was payback time. There is honour even among thieves; there is honour even among politicians, and we had to give it back to Bola Tinubu what he had given to the north,” he said.
