*Abuja* – The Office of the Vice President has clarified comments made by Vice President Kashim Shettima regarding the support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received from northern governors ahead of the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Office said the Vice President’s remarks have been taken out of context and misinterpreted on social and traditional media.
Nkwocha explained that Shettima’s reference to six northern governors who “believed in and supported” Tinubu was strictly limited to political consultations, persuasions and alignments that took place before the APC presidential primary in June 2022, and not the general election.
He said the Vice President was recounting the behind-the-scenes negotiations and uncommon solidarity that culminated in the historic decision by northern APC governors to support a power shift to the South, a decision that paved the way for Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s presidential candidate.
“The Vice President’s comment was not intended to diminish the collective role played by all northern governors and other stakeholders in the process,” the statement said.
According to the Office, the narrative that northern governors collectively agreed to the southern presidency was a consensus built through extensive consultation, horse-trading and personal conviction, and Shettima holds all the governors in high esteem for their statesmanship and sacrifice.
The clarification came a day after Vice President Shettima, speaking on Wednesday at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate, said only six of the 19 northern governors had supported Tinubu’s presidential bid.
“You all know that we have 19 states in the North. Out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu,” Shettima was quoted as saying at the event.
He identified former Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and Governor AbdulRazaq as two of the six governors, but declined to name the remaining four, saying he wanted to avoid controversy.
The Vice President also noted that President Tinubu, as a statesman, had reconciled with northern governors and other leaders who did not support his presidential bid after the 2023 election.
“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,” Shettima said.
However, the comments generated heated debate in the polity, with many interpreting it to mean that the majority of northern APC governors worked against Tinubu during the presidential election.
In Thursday’s clarification, Nkwocha said such interpretation was inaccurate and misleading, stressing that Shettima’s reference to the six governors was about the period before the APC presidential primary and should not be interpreted as suggesting that northern APC governors did not support Tinubu after he emerged as the party’s candidate.
“The reference by the Vice President to six northern governors who ‘believed in and supported’ President Tinubu was strictly in the context of political consultations and alignments that took place before the APC presidential primary in June 2022,” the statement emphasized.
According to Nkwocha, after the primary election which produced Tinubu as the flagbearer, APC governors in the North, regardless of their initial preferences, rallied around the party’s candidate and played critical and important roles in the campaign that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election.
“After the primary, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate and played important roles in the campaign that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election,” he said.
The Vice President’s office said Shettima holds the northern governors and other APC leaders, past and present, in high regard and recognises their individual and collective contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s emergence as President.
It added that the Vice President regretted any interpretation of his remarks that suggested otherwise, noting that the clarification was intended to put the comments in their proper context and preserve the unity and cohesion of the party.
The Office of the Vice President urged the public and media to disregard any misinterpretation, stressing that Vice President Shettima remains committed to national unity and appreciates the contributions of all political actors to President Tinubu’s victory.
It reiterated that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains focused on delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda for all Nigerians and will not be distracted by issues that can cause disunity within the ruling party.
