Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that only six out of the 19 northern governors backed President Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 election
Shettima made the disclosure on Wednesday at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as the Sadauna of Ilorin Emirate
While commending Tinubu’s policies since assuming office, the Vice President urged Nigerian politicians to stop treating politics as a “game of death” and to embrace reconciliation after every political contest
Speaking on the state of the economy Tinubu inherited, Shettima said the administration met less than $39 billion in the national reserve, describing the economy at the time as being on the verge of collapse.
He said Tinubu nonetheless declined to blame his predecessor and instead chose to “inherit” the challenges left behind
The Vice President further claimed that several obstacles were placed in Tinubu’s path as he sought the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket, even from within his own party’s ranks in the north
He added that only Governor Sani Bello of Niger State and AbdulRahman AbdulRazak of Kwara State supported Tinubu in 2023
“We have 19 states in the north, apart from Abubakar Sani Bello seated here, and Malam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq To avoid controversy, I will stop naming the names of the other governors. But the governors that were supporting Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the north were not more than six,” Shettima said.