Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that only six of the 19 northern governors supported Bola Tinubu before the 2023 presidential election.
Shettima made the statement on Wednesday at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari. He spoke during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sadauna of Ilorin Emirate. According to him, Tinubu faced strong opposition in the North, even from some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, Shettima said only Niger State Governor Sani Bello and AbdulRazaq openly supported Tinubu. He added that four other northern governors also backed the former Lagos governor.
“The governors that were supporting Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the north were not more than six,” Shettima said.
He avoided naming the other governors to prevent controversy.
Meanwhile, the Vice President praised Tinubu’s administration and called for unity among Nigerian politicians. Shettima urged politicians to stop treating politics as a “game of death”. He also encouraged reconciliation after elections.
Speaking about the economy Tinubu inherited, Shettima said the country had less than $3.9 billion in reserves. He described the situation as being close to collapse. Still, he said Tinubu chose to face the challenges instead of blaming his predecessor.
