Vice President Kashim Shettima has said only six governors from northern Nigeria supported President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, describing the political tensions surrounding the campaign and election as intense.
Vice President Kashim Shettima and President Bola Tinubu during Eid-el-Fitr prayers in Abuja on March 30, 2026. Photo: KashimSM/X
Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that only six of the 19 northern governors actually supported the Presidential ambition of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023.
Shettima revealed this in the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of the governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate.
According to Shettima, the tension that heralded the 2023 Presidential campaign and the election proper was so daring that it could only take a determined politician with a strong heart to continue pursuing his ambition.
He said that many obstacles were cast on Tinubu’s path to frustrate his focus.
He recalled that: “You all know that we have 19 states in the North; out of these, only six actually believed and supported Tinubu, but Tinubu refused to be deterred. He was able to cross the road.
“Then, the slogan was: ‘ Baba bayan sushi ‘ (Buhari said he didn’t like him). Even with all this, Tinubu went ahead with his ambition.
“Just like former president Muhammadu Buhari; Buhari would call your bluff and send you away once you try to arm-twist him in any political negotiation,” he stated.
He, however, urged Nigerian politicians not to see politics as a game of death but to always reconcile after the contest, saying: “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, however, urged Kwara politicians to close ranks after the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, urging them to emulate President Tinubu’s large heart in any political purpose.
“President Tinubu, as a sound politician, takes after former President Muhammadu Buhari, who never allowed ambitious individuals to upstage nor hold him to ransom in political negotiations.
Still hitting on the doggedness of his boss, Shettima hinted that the federal government inherited 3.9 billion dollars in the kitty, but refused to be discouraged, “the economic team forged ahead to turn the economy around; today, Nigeria is better for it.”
Meanwhile, VP Shettima had earlier inaugurated the state’s Revenue House on Ahmadu Bello Way and the garment factory, both in Ilorin, the state capital.
