Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday clarified his recent reference to six northern governors who backed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the comment applied strictly to political consultations preceding the June 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary and was not intended to diminish the role of other northern governors in Tinubu’s eventual victory.
Shettima said all APC governors in the North rallied behind Tinubu after his emergence as the party’s presidential candidate and played important roles in the campaign that culminated in his victory in the 2023 general election.
The clarification followed interpretations of the Vice President’s earlier remarks made in Ilorin on Wednesday, which suggested that only six northern governors supported Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, the Office of the Vice President said the remarks had been taken outside the specific political context in which they were made.
‘The Vice President’s reference to six northern governors who believed in and supported President Tinubu was specifically about political consultations and alignments preceding the APC presidential primary in June 2022.
‘It was not a comment on the position of northern APC governors following President Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s candidate, nor was it intended to question their support during the 2023 presidential election’, the statement said.
According to the Vice President’s office, the political situation changed after Tinubu emerged from the APC presidential primary, with northern governors subsequently closing ranks behind the party’s flagbearer.
‘Following the presidential primary, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate and played important roles in the campaign and electoral efforts that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election’, the statement said.
The Presidency further explained that Tinubu’s emergence as the APC candidate became an important point of alignment within the party, with other governors subsequently rallying behind him.
It said the declaration by northern governors supporting a power shift ultimately became ‘the aligning moment across all political divides’ in the campaign for the presidency to move to the South.
Shettima stressed that he continued to hold northern governors and other APC leaders in high regard and recognised their individual and collective contributions to Tinubu’s emergence as President.
‘VP Shettima holds the northern governors and other leaders of the APC in high regard and recognises their individual and collective contributions to the success of the party and the emergence of President Tinubu’, the statement added.
The Vice President also expressed regret that his remarks had been interpreted as questioning the commitment of some northern APC governors to Tinubu’s presidential project.
‘The Vice President regrets any interpretation of his remarks that may have suggested otherwise and hopes this clarification places the comments in their proper context’, his office said.
Shettima also acknowledged the media’s role in reporting his office’s activities and urged greater attention to context and accuracy as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general election.
He thanked the Nigerian media for what he described as its longstanding professionalism and constructive engagement with his office, while calling for continued accuracy in reporting public remarks as the country enters another political season.