Vice-President Kashim Shettima has urged eligible voters in the northern part of Nigeria to rally round President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ensure his re-election in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Saturday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign launch in Kaduna, Shettima said Tinubu had consistently supported politicians from the north, including former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said it was only fair for the region to reciprocate the support by re-electing the President and other candidates contesting different positions under the APC.
“We have come to ask you to renew a second time for the APC from top to bottom,” Shettima said.
He said Tinubu had at a time supported and provided a platform for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to contest the presidency in 2007 after his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Shettima also recalled how Tinubu canvassed support for late President Buhari during his presidential campaigns in 2015 and 2019.
“And you can bear witness that in 2015 and 2019, President Tinubu stood solidly behind the late President Muhammadu Buhari, throughout his first and second term victories. This is a mark of honour and our faith in a man of honour,” he said.
Shettima defended the Tinubu-led administration, maintaining that it had delivered on its promises across key sectors.
“First and foremost, we promised to bring back the glory of Kaduna state as the nation’s centre of learning,” he said.
Shettima cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the transition to the Federal University of Education in Zaria and the establishment of a state vocational institute in Rigachikun as examples of the administration’s achievements in the state.
“This is why we have registered substantial progress on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline the Kano-Maradun railway, the Lagos-Kano rail corridor, and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road.
“We are advancing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway that will open up a vista of opportunities for agricultural production in this country. And I want us to bear in mind and go down the past.
“We are also advancing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway that will open up a vista of opportunities for agricultural production in this country.” Shettima added.