Shettima asks north to back Tinubu's 2027 re-election as repayment

Vice President Kashim Shettima has asked northerners to back President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027, saying it would repay the support Tinubu has given to politicians from the region over the years.

Shettima spoke on Saturday at the launch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna.

He said Tinubu had consistently stood by northern politicians, naming former President Muhammadu Buhari. According to the Vice President, Tinubu canvassed support for Buhari during the 2015 and 2019 presidential campaigns, and Shettima said he personally sought the backing of other Nigerians for Buhari in those races.

Shettima also said Tinubu once provided a platform for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to contest the presidency in 2007 after Atiku left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He added that Tinubu supported the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, when Ribadu ran for president on the platform of the ANC.

What Shettima says the government has done

The Vice President defended the administration, saying it has delivered on its promises in key sectors. He cited projects in Kaduna State, including the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the transition to a Federal University of Education in Zaria, a state vocational institute in Rigachikun and the Federal Medical Centre in Kafanchan.

On infrastructure, Shettima pointed to progress on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the Kano-Maradi railway, the Lagos-Kano rail corridor and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road. He said work is also advancing on the Sokoto-Badagry highway, which he said would open opportunities for agricultural production.

He told the crowd that he and other politicians from the region had come to ask northerners and Nigerians to renew their mandate "from top to bottom."

For ordinary Nigerians, the pitch rests on jobs, transport and food: the rail lines and highways he named are meant to move goods and people more cheaply, and the gas pipeline is tied to power and industry in the north.

What happens next

The 2027 general election is still ahead, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not announced a final timetable for the presidential race. The APC's campaign launch signals that the party is already organising in the north, a region that carries a large share of Nigeria's voters.