APC Govs Endorse Tinubu/Shettima Ticket, Reactions Trail Choice

Governors who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have endorsed the choice of the erstwhile governor of Borno State and senator representing Borno Central, Kashim Shettima, as the running mate for the party’s flag-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Kebbi State governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, stated this Monday in Daura, Katsina State, where he led some governors of the APC to pay a Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Bagudu said a Tinubu/Shettima presidency will complement all the achievements of the last seven years under President Buhari. He also said the APC governors were working hard to win this Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State. 

Tinubu announced Shettima as his running mate on Sunday in Daura.

Since then reactions have continued to trail his choice.

Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, described the joint ticket of Tinubu and Shettima as a perfect match.

Buni, in a statement on Monday by his Director-General Press and Media Affairs, Mamman Mohammed, said the Tinubu/Shettima ticket would make the party stronger and boost its chances of victory in 2023, adding that Nigerians had a lot to enjoy from their administration if voted into power.

Buni, who was the Chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, said both Tinubu and Shettima had religious tolerance, working and living with people of different faiths, adding that they had respect for all religions.

The statement reads in part: “With a population of over 40 million members, APC will by the grace of God win the 2023 elections fairly and squarely. The combination of Tinubu and Shettima makes the party stronger to approach the presidential election next year with a clear victory.

“Their administrative competence, skills and success stories have adequately prepared them for the leadership of the country. Nigeria has a lot to gain from the Tinubu/Shettima administration when elected into office.”

Tinubu/Shettima ticket in Nigeria’s interest — Lawan

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has hailed the selection of Senator Kashim Shettima as the running mate to the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the 2023 general elections.

Lawan, in a statement he signed yesterday, said Tinubu and the party had made an excellent choice in Shettima.

He said Shettima’s background in academics and the private sector prepared him for the achievements he had recorded in politics as governor and since his election to the senate in 2019.

The senate president assured Nigerians that the choices that APC made for its presidential ticket were for the good of the country.

The statement reads in part: “We of the North East caucus of the APC attest that Senator Kashim Ibrahim Shettima is the right man for the job and that he will be an able and loyal lieutenant to our incoming president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in sha Allah.”

Ticket will give APC victory – Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said by choosing Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate, Bola Tinubu has settled for one of the best hands for the vice presidential job.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, yesterday, Gbajabiamila described Shettima’s choice as a wise decision, adding that he had over the years proven his mettle as a shrewd and progressive politician whose eight years as Governor of Borno State was a defining moment for the state.

He said, “Asiwaju is widely known as the biggest talent hunter in the country who has over the years assembled an army of performers in governance irrespective of their ethnicity or religious leanings.

“This unique feature also can be found in Sen Shettima following his track record of excellence in both the private and public sectors.”

I’ll work for Tinubu/Shettima to win 2023 poll – Sheriff

A former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said he will work with other stakeholders of the party to deliver victory to the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, in 2023.

Sheriff, in a statement on Monday by the director general of his campaign organisation, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, said Shettima had his blessing and would be supported to win on the joint ticket with Tinubu.

He said, “For the records, Shettima personally notified me of his nomination as soon as he was informed of it, and I have given my blessings to the Tinubu/Shettima APC 2023 presidential ticket.

“All party stakeholders and members must work together to ensure that the APC wins the 2023 presidential election irrespective of whatever sentiments we may harbour.

“As an individual and a critical stakeholder of the APC, I am ready to work with the team and other stakeholders of the party to ensure its electoral victory in the 2023 general elections at all levels. I will do everything humanly possible to ensure that the APC wins the coming elections in landslide.

Shettima enjoys support of Christian community – Ajaka

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC and member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), Hon Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, has said Shettima enjoys the support of Christian community and will attract massive votes from them.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja, Ajaka appealed to Nigerians and the electorate to ignore opposition political parties’ sentiments of religion.

He said the fears being expressed in some quarters only existed in the realm of imagination of opposition, adding that Shettima was a “man of knowledge, accomplishment, courage and integrity who is not given to bigotry or having corruption badges with any anti-corruption agencies.

“The sterling qualities of our vice presidential candidate, in person of Senator Kashim Shettima, has once again thrown the opposition parties off balance. They would have preferred our presidential candidate to settle for the less so as to make it easy for them to win election.

“While we sympathise with the opposition parties, we appeal to Nigerians, who will eventually be the beneficiaries of good governance under Tinubu/Shettima presidency to see beyond the sentiments of religion and tribe.”

Church leaders kick against Shettima’s emergence

Church leaders and ministers have expressed disappointment over the emergence of Kashim Shettima as Bola Tinubu’s running mate, saying a Muslim-Muslim ticket is not a good omen for the country’s democracy.

The church leaders council stated this yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, during the commencement of its 26th annual fellowship conference with the theme: “The church in a time like this”.

Addressing newsmen on the state of the nation, the Chairman of the council, Pastor Abel Aiyedogbon, said, “Our political leaders are not sensitive to the feelings of the citizens of the country, because the behaviour of the political class most of the time evidently shows that personal ambition and interest are the overriding goal and not patriotism.

“How will anybody think about fielding candidates of the same religion for the first and the second place when the constitution of the country recognises secularity.

“One will not be wrong to say that trampling on the religious rights of Nigerian is manifest in the idea of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which some people are now championing.

“The suggestion of a Muslim-Muslim ticket is all about impunity and a callous lack of consideration for others. It is a form of religious intolerance to even contemplate either a Muslim-Muslim ticket or a Christian-Christian ticket.

“Any party that thinks or believes that the Christian population can be ignored without consequences will be doing so at its peril.”

Shettima’s experience needed to tackle insecurity – Shehu Sani

A human rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani, has said Senator Kashim Shettima’s experience is needed in tackling insecurity in the country if elected on a joint ticket with Bola Tinubu of the APC in 2023.

Senator Sani, in a statement yesterday, said Shettima invested much of his time, energy and resources in combating, containing and curtailing the activities of terrorists while he was Governor of Borno State and had garnered enough experience to repeat the feat at the federal level.

He said, “I’m not a member of the ruling party, but the truth is that other than issues of religion, he is better qualified in terms of competence than many who were paraded. Shettima’s experience can be useful and is very much needed.”

He added that as a stakeholder and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Humanitarian Crisis in the North East, Shettima attracted massive presence and intervention of international NGOs and donor countries to the humanitarian situation in Borno State.

By Saawua Terzungwe, Muideen Olaniyi, Abdullateef Salau, Balarabe Alkassim (Abuja), Ibrahim Baba Saleh (Damaturu),  Mumini AbdulKareem (Ilorin) & Mohammed I. Yaba (Kaduna) - via Daily Trust