Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President’s spokesman, has clarified his principal Kashim Shettima’s claim that only six of the 19 northern governors supported President Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid.
TheNewsGuru reports that the Vice President, while 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, “You all know that we have 19 states in the North; out of these, only six actually believed in and supported Tinubu, but Tinubu refused to be deterred. He was able to cross the road.”
However, in a statement on Thursday, Nkwocha said Shettima was referring to the governors’ positions before the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in June 2022.
He added that the remark concerned political consultations and alignments before Tinubu emerged as the APC presidential candidate.
“The Vice President’s reference to six northern governors who believed in and supported President Tinubu was specifically about political consultations and alignments preceding the APC presidential primary in June 2022,” the statement said.
“It was not a comment on the position of northern APC governors following President Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s candidate, nor was it intended to question their support during the 2023 presidential election.”
He further stressed that northern APC governors rallied behind Tinubu after the presidential primary and contributed to the campaign and electoral efforts that resulted in his victory in the 2023 presidential election.
“Following the presidential primary, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate and played important roles in the campaign and electoral efforts that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election,” the statement said.
The statement also added that the governors’ declaration of support after Tinubu emerged as the party’s candidate became “the aligning moment across all political divides in the quest for power shift.”
Nkwocha further stated that Shettima holds the northern governors and other APC leaders in high regard and recognises their contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s emergence as president.
“The Vice President regrets any interpretation of his remarks that may have suggested otherwise and hopes this clarification places the comments in their proper context,” Nkwocha said.
Shettima had also said Tinubu faced strong opposition during the build-up to the 2023 election but remained committed to his presidential ambition.
Quoting him, “Then, the slogan was: ‘Baba ya ba ya son shi’ (Buhari said he didn’t like him). Even with all this, Tinubu went ahead with his ambition.”
The VP also said Tinubu reconciled with northern governors who had not supported him after the 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,” he said.