2027: Shettima Urges North to Repay Tinubu’s Support With Re-election

2027: Shettima Urges North to Repay Tinubu’s Support With Re-election

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has called on northern voters to rally behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, arguing that the region owes the President a political debt for his longstanding support for northern leaders, including the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shettima made the appeal on Saturday at the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign launch in Kaduna, where he urged voters to support Tinubu and other APC candidates across the country in the forthcoming general elections.

According to the Vice-President, Tinubu’s political history demonstrates a consistent willingness to support leaders from the North, making it imperative for the region to reciprocate by backing his administration for another four-year term.

“We have come to ask you to renew a second time for the APC from top to bottom,” Shettima said.

He cited Tinubu’s role in supporting political figures from the North, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, whom he said the President had provided a platform to contest the presidency in 2007 following his departure from the Peoples Democratic Party.

Shettima also recalled Tinubu’s support for Buhari during the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections, describing the former Lagos State governor’s loyalty as evidence of honour and political commitment.

“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.

Beyond appealing to the North on the basis of political loyalty, Shettima defended the Tinubu administration’s performance, highlighting projects and institutional developments he said demonstrated its commitment to national growth and the development of Kaduna State.

He said the administration had promised to restore Kaduna’s status as a leading centre of learning and pointed to the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the transition of the institution in Zaria to a federal university of education and the establishment of a state vocational institute in Rigachikun as evidence of progress.

The Vice-President also listed major infrastructure projects, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the Kano-Maradi railway, the Lagos-Kano rail corridor and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road, as part of the administration’s development agenda.

He further highlighted ongoing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway, describing the project as a strategic investment that could expand agricultural production and unlock economic opportunities across the country.

According to Shettima, the highway would improve connectivity, open up agricultural communities and strengthen the movement of goods and services, with potential benefits for farmers and businesses.

His appeal in Kaduna combined a call for political reciprocity with a defence of the administration’s record, as the APC seeks to consolidate its support base ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Vice-President urged northern voters to consider Tinubu’s past political alliances and the administration’s stated achievements in deciding whether to renew the President’s mandate.