Reported By Ariajegbe Esezobor Sylvia
Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that only six of Nigeria’s nineteen northern governors supported President Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition in the 2023 general election, disclosing that the President nonetheless extended forgiveness to those who opposed him after the contest ended.
Shettima made the revelation on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate. The Vice President, who spoke against the backdrop of political activities ahead of the 2027 elections, urged politicians to regard political contests as temporary and avoid allowing disagreements arising from them to become permanent divisions. He called on all stakeholders to unite in this political season and play politics without bitterness, saying the truth that sets people free is also the truth that people do not want to hear.
Recalling the opposition Tinubu faced during the 2023 presidential contest, Shettima said the eventual winner had continued with his campaign despite limited support among governors in the northern region. He stated that out of the nineteen northern states, only six governors actually believed in and supported Tinubu, but the President refused to be deterred and was able to cross the road. According to the Vice President, the political atmosphere at the time was further complicated by the belief among some northern political actors that former President Muhammadu Buhari did not support Tinubu’s ambition. He recalled the slogan, Baba bayan sunshi, which he explained was used to suggest that Buhari did not want Tinubu to succeed him as President.
Despite the opposition, Shettima said Tinubu remained focused on his ambition and subsequently won the presidential election, adding that the President later extended a hand of fellowship to those who had worked against him. After the 2023 election, President Tinubu hugged and forgave all other northern governors that did not support him, Shettima said. That is a mark of a good leader. He urged politicians in Kwara, particularly those involved in the current contest for political offices, to learn from the President’s approach by putting their differences aside after the conclusion of their respective contests.
The Vice President’s appeal comes amid disagreements within the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress following the party’s governorship primary, with some aggrieved aspirants and their supporters forming a group known as the G-15. Shettima reminded politicians that political power was temporary and should therefore be exercised with humility, responsibility and a sense of service. He noted that as public office holders, politicians spend more of their lives outside public offices than they do in public offices, urging them to embrace one another and have the courage to serve with humility. He added that political office was not necessarily a reflection of superior pedigree, intellect or ability, but an opportunity entrusted to individuals by God and the electorate. We are in power not because of our pedigree, intellect, ability or physical build, but by destiny, he said. What brings us together supersedes what separates us.
Shettima also praised Tinubu’s handling of the economic challenges inherited by his administration, saying the President chose to confront the situation rather than spend his time blaming the previous government. He said the administration inherited an economy facing severe challenges, with about 3.9 billion dollars in its coffers when it assumed office, but its economic team had continued working to stabilise the situation. The economic team forged ahead to turn the economy around; today, Nigeria is better for it, the Vice President said. He described Tinubu as a good and decent man who has the interests of Nigerians at heart and believes in the people working with him.
The Vice President also commended the Emir of Ilorin for honouring Governor AbdulRazaq, saying the title reflected the governor’s contributions to the development of Kwara State. He noted that the governor’s late father had left good footprints in the Ilorin Emirate and Nigeria, expressing optimism that the new title would further strengthen the relationship between the AbdulRazaq family and the Emirate. Shettima commended the governor’s efforts in infrastructure development and thanked him for supporting the implementation of Federal Government policies and programmes aimed at providing relief to Nigerians. In his remarks, the Matawali of Ilorin Emirate, Dr Alimi AbdulRazaq, described the Sardauna title conferred on the governor as well deserved. He thanked the Emir of Ilorin for recognising the governor and urged AbdulRazaq to regard the honour as a fresh call to provide more dividends of democracy to people across the state.
The ceremony attracted dignitaries from across the country, including Niger State Governor Umar Bago, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, as well as other state governors and deputy governors. Also present were the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Bamalli, and traditional and political leaders from different parts of the country. Earlier, Shettima had inaugurated the Kwara State Revenue House on Ahmadu Bello Way and a garment factory in Ilorin as part of his activities in the state.
The Vice President’s disclosure about the 2023 election provides fresh insight into the internal dynamics that shaped Tinubu’s path to power. Despite winning the presidency with 8.8 million votes, Tinubu’s support in the North was far from unanimous among the region’s governors, many of whom had their own political calculations and loyalties. Shettima’s revelation that only six northern governors backed Tinubu at the time underscores the scale of the political challenge the President overcame. It also highlights the reconciliation that followed, a process that has seen several of those who opposed Tinubu’s ambition subsequently align with his administration. Shettima’s message in Ilorin was clearly designed to serve as a model for Kwara’s APC, where post-primary tensions threaten party unity ahead of 2027. Whether politicians in Kwara and beyond will heed the call to forgive and forget remains to be seen, but the Vice President’s words carried the weight of a leader who witnessed firsthand how political opposition gave way to reconciliation at the highest level.
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