Shettima to Northern leaders: You’ve nothing to fear if Tinubu wins second term
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has appealed to Northern leaders to galvanise support for President Bola Tinubu to enable him to secure a fresh mandate in the presidential election next January. Senator…
Vice President Kashim Shettima's appeal comes as early positioning begins for the next presidential contest, with Tinubu's camp seeking to shore up support in the North, a region that has historically been decisive in Nigerian presidential elections. The North has often expressed concerns about power shift and equitable representation, particularly given the zoning arrangements within the ruling All Progressives Congress and the broader political consensus around rotating the presidency between the north and south.
Tinubu's standing in the North has been a subject of scrutiny since his emergence as APC candidate in 2023, with questions persisting about whether northern voters would back a southern president for a second term, especially amid economic hardship linked to subsidy removal and currency reforms. Shettima, as a northern Muslim from Borno State, has frequently been deployed to reassure the region of its continued relevance in the administration's power structure. The two outlets' headlines align closely on Shettima's core message and timeline, though Tribune references the January election date while Vanguard cites 2027, a discrepancy likely reflecting the specific election year not being clearly stated in both reports.