Vice President Kashim Shettima has told the North that it has nothing to fear from a second term for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the region has gained a lot from the current government and will gain even more if the President is reelected in 2027.
Shettima made the declaration on Monday at the Presidential Villa while receiving a delegation from Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern group working for Tinubu’s reelection. This was contained in a statement signed by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications ,Office of the Vice President.
He said the North should not be afraid of another four years of Tinubu. According to him, the region has benefited greatly in terms of appointments and major projects, and more is coming.
”Let us unite as a people and work for the development of our region and the progress of our people through the reelection of this administration,” Shettima said. “We are benefiting and we stand to benefit more from this government in many ways.”
The Vice President gave an example of the Bank of Agriculture, which he said has given out N450 billion to 700,000 small holder farmers across Nigeria. He said about 70 percent of those who collected the money are from the North.
He also said the government is working to complete big projects in different parts of the country. “I can assure you that the President loves the North and the President will work for the North,” he added.
Shettima thanked the group for standing with Tinubu at all times. He asked them to work even harder and take the message to every ward, community, and local government area in the North.
The delegation was led by the Director General of A4A and former Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru, and the Chairman of the group’s Board of Trustees, former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.
Badaru said the group will not rest until the North makes the President proud in 2027. He said A4A plans to meet with religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian, and other prominent Nigerians to explain why they should support the Tinubu/Shettima ticket.
He said the group has already met with many big names and will keep engaging them. He also said A4A is working closely with the Presidential Campaign Council, but is putting its energy into the grassroots.
”We want to focus very well on the contacts at the grassroots, the local government areas and the wards,” Badaru said.
Shekarau said the group worked for Tinubu’s victory in 2023 and will do it again in 2027. He said they have been meeting with northern governors and other stakeholders to plan together.
He also said the group has concluded plans to open a full secretariat where directors and state coordinators will share reports and give instructions to members.
Shekarau then invited the Vice President to officially open the A4A office complex on Saturday, October 17, 2027.
Those at the meeting included former Governors Joshua Dariye and Simon Lalong of Plateau, Rev. Jolly Nyame of Taraba, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina, and Isa Yuguda of Bauchi. Others were Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, and Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), Chairman of NDLEA.
With the 2027 election still far away, the meeting shows that the race for the North has already started. And for Shettima, the message to the region is simple, there is nothing to fear.
