Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that only six of the 19 northern governors supported Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid in 2023, saying the opposition did not stop him from pursuing his ambition and eventually winning the election. Shettima made the disclosure on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, during the turbaning of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as […]

Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that only six of the 19 northern governors supported Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid in 2023, saying the opposition did not stop him from pursuing his ambition and eventually winning the election.

Shettima made the disclosure on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, during the turbaning of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.

Recalling the 2023 presidential election, the Vice President said Tinubu faced considerable political opposition in the North but remained determined despite the challenges.

According to Shettima, only six northern states had governors who backed Tinubu during the election, while the remaining 13 did not support his candidacy.

“You all know that we have 19 states in the North, out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu, but Tinubu refused to be deterred,” Shettima said.

He also referred to the political campaign surrounding Tinubu’s ambition at the time, including the slogan “Baba bayan sushi”, which he said was used to suggest that former President Muhammadu Buhari was opposed to Tinubu succeeding him.

Shettima said Tinubu nevertheless continued his campaign and went on to win the 2023 presidential election.

The Vice President said Tinubu later chose reconciliation, rather than allowing the disagreements from the election to permanently damage his relationship with the northern governors who had opposed him.

“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,” he said.

Using the experience as an example, Shettima urged politicians in Kwara State to put their differences aside after political contests and work towards reconciliation.

His appeal comes amid disagreements within the Kwara chapter of the All Progressives Congress following the party’s governorship primary, with some aggrieved aspirants and their supporters operating under the G-15.

The Vice President urged politicians to remember that electoral contests are temporary and should not create lasting divisions among them.

“I call on all of us to unite in this political season and play politics without bitterness,” Shettima said.

He also reminded political actors that public office is temporary and should be approached with humility and a sense of responsibility, saying the issues that unite people should be stronger than those that divide them.

Shettima further defended the Tinubu administration’s approach to the economic challenges inherited by the government, saying the administration decided to confront the problems instead of spending its time blaming its predecessor.

Earlier in his visit to Ilorin, the Vice President inaugurated the Kwara State Revenue House on Ahmadu Bello Way and a garment factory in the state capital.