Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday went down the memory lane recalling how President Bola Tinubu provided former Vice President Atiku Abubakar political refuge and a platform to contest the 2007 presidential election after he was forced out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Shettima who spoke at the flag-off of the APC presidential campaign in Kaduna said Tinubu’s longstanding support for northern presidential candidates demonstrated his commitment to the region and justified the North’s continued support for his re-election in 2027.
The Vice President reminded northerners that Tinubu similarly supported two other prominent northern politicians in their presidential ambitions: current National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu in 2011 and the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019.
Tinubu’s political history he said has established him as a dependable ally of the North.
Shettima said: ‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one person who has fiercely identified with the North over the years.
‘It is pertinent to mention that when our former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was harassed and chased out of the PDP with his tail between his legs he ran to the Lion of Bourdillon who gave him political succour and support and a platform to contest for the presidency of this country in 2007.
‘Again in 2011 President Tinubu supported another northern man Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to contest for the presidency of this country.
‘And you can be a witness that in 2015 and 2019 President Tinubu stood solidly behind the late President Muhammadu Buhari and secured him his first and second-term victories’ he said.
Shettima said the President’s political sacrifices and commitment to northern interests were sufficient reasons for the region to stand firmly behind his second-term ambition.
He maintained that supporting Tinubu’s re-election was a matter of honour political loyalty and appreciation for his contributions to the advancement of northern political leaders over the years.
The Vice President also defended the administration’s economic reforms insisting that the government had successfully held the country together despite predictions that its policies would trigger an economic collapse.
According to him the administration’s achievements were the result of collective sacrifice political cooperation and the determination of its leadership to confront challenges threatening Nigeria’s stability.
‘We have come to you with a heart full of gratitude. Gratitude for standing with us. Gratitude for believing in us. Gratitude for understanding that after the storm comes ease’ he told the gathering.
Shettima said the administration had demonstrated that it possessed the competence and sincerity required to navigate the country’s difficulties.
‘We couldn’t have been here today without the faith you have in us. So thank you.
‘We are qualified to come to you because you know beyond the mischief beyond the lies beyond the hypocrisies and beyond the agenda that Nigeria needs its finest servants to stand together.
‘What we have done is to fight for the survival of this nation’ he declared.
He attributed the administration’s ability to withstand economic pressures and preserve national stability to cooperation among political leaders and the confidence Nigerians had continued to repose in the government.
‘We were able to keep this country together and defy the predictions of those who had predicted the implosion of our economy because we worked together’ he said.
Reflecting on the 2023 presidential election Shettima argued that Nigerians did not elect Tinubu because of the wealth educational qualifications or rhetorical abilities of the APC leadership but because they recognised the dangers he claimed were associated with the available alternatives.
‘Almost four years ago you spoke eloquently sincerely boldly and decisively to elect a change-maker His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
‘We didn’t win that election because we were wise. Far from it. We didn’t win that election because we were rich and we didn’t win that election because we were educated.
‘We didn’t win that election because we were the best speakers. We won because you saw options before you and knew without a doubt that the alternative was a calamity’ he stated.
The Vice President urged Nigerians to renew their confidence in the ruling party maintaining that the APC had demonstrated its capacity to deliver on electoral promises and sustain development across the country.
Addressing the people of Kaduna State Shettima praised Governor Uba Sani for promoting unity and development in a state previously troubled by divisions.
He said the governor’s inclusive leadership had strengthened relationships among communities and created an atmosphere in which residents from different parts of the state could regard themselves as members of one political family.
According to him the administration had helped bridge longstanding divisions between communities in Southern and Northern Kaduna while extending development programmes across the state.
He said the achievements provided sufficient grounds for voters to renew Sani’s mandate alongside that of President Tinubu.
‘This is the legacy of the APC in Kaduna State. This is the mandate we have come to ask you to renew a second term for the APC from top to bottom’Shettima declared.
The Vice President also listed educational projects and skills development initiatives among the achievements of the federal and Kaduna State governments.
He cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences Kachia the transition of the Federal College of Education Zaria to university status and the establishment of vocational training institutions as evidence of the party’s commitment to restoring Kaduna’s reputation as a centre of learning.
He particularly highlighted the vocational training centres in Rigachikun Soba and Samaru Kataf saying they had produced more than 4000 graduates.
Shettima also identified the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as an intervention that had provided educational financing to hundreds of thousands of students in tertiary institutions.
He insisted that the developments demonstrated the administration’s determination to expand access to education promote skills acquisition and create opportunities for young Nigerians.
Turning to federal infrastructure projects across Northern Nigeria the Vice President dismissed suggestions that Tinubu’s administration had neglected the region.
He said the government had maintained a policy of continuing important projects inherited from previous administrations rather than abandoning them for political reasons.
According to him this approach had resulted in substantial progress on several strategic infrastructure projects expected to improve transportation energy supply agricultural production and economic integration across the northern states.
‘We have built a record of continuing projects initiated by our predecessors’ he said.
He listed the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Kano-Maradi Railway Lagos-Kano Rail Corridor and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road among projects receiving attention under the administration.
Shettima also highlighted ongoing work on the Sokoto-Badagry Highway describing the road project as a major infrastructure intervention that would create opportunities for agricultural production and economic activities.