Shettima explains comments on northern governors backing Tinubu

The Vice President's office has explained Kashim Shettima’s comments about the support President Bola Tinubu got from northern governors before the 2022 APC presidential primary.

On Thursday, Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, released a statement. He said that Shettima’s mention of six northern governors who “believed in and supported” Tinubu was just about political talks before the APC primary in June 2022.

This explanation came after Shettima said that only six out of the 19 northern governors backed Tinubu’s presidential bid in the 2023 election.

While speaking on Wednesday at the Emir of Ilorin's palace, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate, Shettima said, “You all know that we have 19 states in the North. Out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu.”

He named former Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and AbdulRazaq as two of the six but did not mention the others to avoid stirring up any issues.

Shettima also talked about how Tinubu had made peace with the northern governors who did not support him during the 2023 election.

“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,” Shettima said.

But in the clarification from Thursday, Nkwocha said that Shettima's mention of the six governors referred to the time before the APC presidential primary. It should not be seen as a claim that northern APC governors did not support Tinubu after he became the party’s candidate.

“The reference by the Vice President to six northern governors who ‘believed in and supported’ President Tinubu was strictly in the context of political consultations and alignments that took place before the APC presidential primary in June 2022,” the statement read.

Nkwocha noted that northern APC governors came together to support Tinubu after the primary and played key roles in the campaign that led to his victory in the 2023 general election.

“After the primary, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate and played important roles in the campaign that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election,” he said.

The Vice President’s office stated that Shettima respects the northern governors and other APC leaders. He acknowledges their contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s rise.

Nkwocha added that Shettima regrets any misunderstanding from his comments. He said the clarification aims to explain his remarks correctly.