Senator Kashim Shettima and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu
The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Kashim Shettima, says it is now time for the north to repay the electoral support which the party’s flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has given the region over the years.
Shettima, speaking yesterday in Abuja during the unveiling of the Tinubu/Shettima Door-To-Door grassroots mobilisation campaign vehicles donated by the Northern APC State Assembly Speakers, said the APC presidential candidate had always given his all to the North.
He cited Tinubu’s role in helping to provide platforms for the presidential ambitions of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2007, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in 2011 and President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
“In 2007 when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dehumanised and chased former Vice President Atiku Abubakar out of the party, it was Asiwaju Tinubu who offered him the platform of the Action Congress (AC) on which he contested the 2007 presidential election,” Shettima said.
He added: “Similarly, in 2011, Asiwaju offered Nuhu Ribadu the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to contest for president.
“In 2014, if not that Asiwaju Tinubu mobilised the entire APC Southwest delegates for him, President Mohammadu Buhari would not have won the APC presidential ticket to contest in 2015.
“Tinubu stood firmly for justice, equity and fairness with his endorsement of Northern presidential candidates at various times in the past.
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“So the 2023 election provides the opportunity for Northern Nigeria to pay back the goodwill and support that Tinubu had extended to them at different election circles.”
Shettima also recalled how Tinubu played a key role in checking what he called PDP’s rigging machine in the Southwest states of Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states in the 2007 general election.
He said if voted into office in next year’s election, Tinubu would build a new Nigerian nation that every citizen would be proud of as he is endowed with the intellect, capacity and ability to deliver.
The former Borno State governor thanked the speakers for their gesture, which he said would go a long way in making the APC campaign easy.
“They are still fighting over the leadership of their party. We are not like them. We are smarter. We know the road better than the Poverty Development Party.
“We are a party of progressives. We are thinkers and doers. We have the courage, the determination, the perseverance and the foresight to identify Nigeria’s problems and tackle them for the benefit of our children’s tomorrow. The journey has started already.”
Tinubu enjoined the APC Northern state Speakers to co-opt their counterparts in the South in the campaign initiative.
Director General of the APC presidential campaign council and Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simeon Lalong, said as leaders of the legislative arms of government in APC controlled states in the North, the speakers and other legislators occupy a unique position to not only connect with the people at the grassroots but also mobilise the people for Tinubu’s election and educate them on what he stands for.
Lalong said: “Our Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate Senator Kashim Shettima come along with wonderful records of achievement that are a clear signal to the journey towards a greater Nigeria.
“They are focused on building the economy, uniting the nation, tackling insecurity and addressing education and health challenges among others in a way that meets the yearning of Nigerians.
“As we get set to work for the success of our Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, I wish to remind you that there is so much that the APC has done at the federal, state and local government levels that will speak for us.
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“It is therefore our duty to highlight these achievements just to remind Nigerians that our party has done a lot to change Nigeria for good in various ways.”
Deputy Campaign DG North and Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, praised the Speakers for coming together to deploy their grassroots structures towards delivering the Tinubu/Shettima ticket at the elections in 2023.
He advised them to carry along the councillors of their various constituencies to deepen their reach out and consultations across the North.
Chairman, Northern APC Speakers Forum and Speaker Kaduna State Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani assured Tinubu that they had resolved to ensure the success of the APC by reaching out to the grassroots.
Vehicles donated for the mobilisation and Campaign by the Northern Speakers Forum were unveiled and distributed to coordinators at the ceremony.
The parties are scheduled to commence their presidential campaigns on September 28 ahead of the February election.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, at a separate forum yesterday urged Kwarans to reciprocate Tinubu’s kind deeds to them in the past by voting for him in February.
He described the APC candidate as the best hand for the job.
Senator Oloriegbe, who failed in his bid to get the party’s ticket to represent Kwara Central for a second term in the National Assembly, expressed disappointment at the outcome of the state congress.
He labeled it a ‘selection’ process.
But Oloriegbe, who spoke on the sidelines of a prayer session organised by his family and supporters, said he remained a member of the APC because of Tinubu and the interest of the party.
He added that his support for Tinubu stemmed from the fact that the APC presidential candidate possesses the qualities lead the country aright.
He said: “In spite of all that happened to me at the primaries in the state, I remain a member of APC. Since 2010, my focus has been the progress of Kwara and I have been in that struggle.
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“I believe that I have to stay in APC to join forces together in correcting what is happening in the party in the state.
“More importantly, shortly after the primaries, I had a meeting with Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate Senator Kashim Shettima. We analysed what happened at the primaries and we agreed to put that behind us.
“I am a stakeholder in the Nigerian project. At this particular time, if you look at capacity and ability to a change, Asiwaju Tinubu is the best candidate. As such, I along with my supporters will mobilise and work for Tinubu and Senator Shettima at the 2023 elections.
“Asiwaju Tinubu has been supporting our cause in Kwara. In 2011, I was an Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial candidate and Tinubu was our leader. In 2018/2019 he was a major supporter of the Oto ge movement and I am a beneficiary of the struggle. Why will I now say whatever has happened to me personally because of the primaries, I will leave Asiwaju because of selfish interest? Never.
“My support for Tinubu is based on his capacity and ability. I am also supporting him for the benefit of my state because if Nigeria is good, Kwara will be good. It is not borne out of ulterior motive.”
Also yesterday the South-South Movement for Tinubu/Shettima (SSMTS) described the APC presidential candidate and his running mate as a sure ticket to massive development across Nigeria, particularly the South-South region.
A group, in a communiqué at the end of a meeting in Warri, enjoined Nigerians to shun campaigns of calumny by those it called desperate and drowning politicians.
It asked stakeholders in the geopolitical zone to “embrace the ticket to guarantee a prosperous Nigeria,” adding that “sincere and concerted efforts should be made to return the region fully into mainstream national politics in order to ensure meaningful and accelerated development”.
It said the PDP which the region has been supporting since 1999 has failed to attract the much-needed development to the area, and expressed optimism that the Tinubu/Shettima ticket would return the country and in particular, the oil-rich region, to the path of sustainable peace, socio-economic growth and development.
The communiqué was signed by the National Coordinator, Besidone Samuel Eyengho; Dr. Emem Wilcox Wills, National Secretary; Chief ThankGod Deizigha, National Organising Secretary; Barr. Nwulu Charles Uche, National Publicity Secretary; George Ogaga, State Coordinator and Abu Momodu.
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