Vice President Kashim Shettima has said President Bola Tinubu chose reconciliation after the 2023 presidential election, forgiving northern governors who had backed other candidates during the contest.
Shettima made the disclosure on Wednesday, September 16, in Ilorin, Kwara State, while attending the ceremony where Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was turbaned as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
The Vice President used the occasion to appeal to politicians in Kwara State to avoid allowing political disagreements to become permanent personal or communal divisions as preparations for the 2027 elections intensify.
“I call on all of us to unite in this political season and play politics without bitterness. The truth that sets us free is also the truth that people don’t want to hear,” Shettima said.
Reflecting on Tinubu’s 2023 campaign, Shettima said the President had to overcome significant opposition across the northern region, where he claimed only six of the 19 northern states had governors who supported his candidacy.
“You all know that we have 19 states in the North. Out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu, but Tinubu refused to be deterred. He was able to cross the road,” he said.
Shettima also recalled the political narrative surrounding former President Muhammadu Buhari during the campaign, noting that some northern political actors believed Buhari was unwilling to support Tinubu’s succession bid.
He referred to the expression “Baba bayan sunshi,” which he said was used at the time to suggest that Buhari did not want Tinubu to become President.
Despite the opposition, Shettima said Tinubu remained committed to his campaign and eventually emerged victorious before reaching out to those who had opposed him.
“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,” he said.
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The Vice President urged politicians in Kwara to adopt the same spirit of reconciliation once electoral contests are over, particularly as the state’s political environment remains unsettled following the APC governorship primary.
Some dissatisfied aspirants and their supporters have formed the G-15 group following the primary.
Shettima also reminded political office holders that their positions were temporary and should be used in the service of the public.
“As public office holders, we spend more of our lives outside public offices than we do in public offices. Let us embrace each other, let us have the courage to serve with humility,” he said.
“We are in power not because of our pedigree, intellect, ability or physical build, but by destiny. What brings us together supersedes what separates us,” he added.
On the economy, Shettima defended the Tinubu administration’s approach to the challenges it inherited, saying the government had concentrated on implementing reforms rather than dwelling on the shortcomings of its predecessor.
“The economic team forged ahead to turn the economy around; today, Nigeria is better for it,” he said.
Earlier, the Vice President inaugurated Kwara’s Revenue House on Ahmadu Bello Way and a garment factory in Ilorin.