Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged northern leaders and voters to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, saying the region has nothing to fear from a second term under the administration.
Shettima made the appeal on Monday while receiving a delegation from Arewa for Tinubu, a northern group campaigning for the President’s re-election. He called for unity across the region, saying its development and the welfare of its people remained priorities for the government.
The Vice President said the North had benefited from federal appointments, projects and programmes and stood to gain further. He cited agricultural financing as an example, stating that the Bank of Agriculture had disbursed N450 billion to 700,000 smallholder farmers nationwide, with approximately 70 percent of the beneficiaries coming from the North.
Shettima also said the administration was working to complete major projects across the country and assured the delegation of Tinubu’s commitment to northern development. He thanked the group for its support and encouraged members to strengthen mobilization in communities, wards and local government areas ahead of the election.
The organisation’s Director-General and former Jigawa State governor, Abubakar Badaru, said the group would intensify efforts to secure support for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket. He said its outreach would include Muslim and Christian religious leaders, prominent Nigerians and grassroots voters.
Badaru said the organisation had already held discussions with influential stakeholders and would continue those engagements through its Board of Trustees. He added that the group intended to complement the Presidential Campaign Council’s work by concentrating on local contacts and mobilisation.
The Board of Trustees Chairman and former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, said the organisation would build on its involvement in Tinubu’s 2023 election campaign. He said members had been meeting northern governors and other stakeholders to coordinate their efforts and were preparing a permanent secretariat for directors and state coordinators.
Several former governors and senior officials attended the meeting, including Joshua Dariye, Simon Lalong, Jolly Nyame, Yahaya Bello, Ibrahim Shehu Shema and Isa Yuguda. Also present were presidential adviser Hadiza Bala Usman and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Chairman Buba Marwa.
