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Vice-President Kashim Shettima has urged northern leaders and residents to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, insisting that the region stands to benefit more from a second term of the administration.
Shettima made the appeal on Monday when he received a delegation of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern political support group, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the North had benefited from the administration’s appointments, projects and programmes, adding that greater cooperation with the Federal Government would advance the region’s development.
“Let’s unite as a people and work for the development of our region and the progress of our people through the re-election of this administration. We are benefiting and we stand to benefit more from this government in many ways,” the Vice-President said.
Shettima cited the Bank of Agriculture’s reported disbursement of N450 billion to 700,000 smallholder farmers nationwide, stating that about 70 per cent of the beneficiaries were from northern Nigeria.
He also expressed confidence that the Tinubu administration would complete major projects across the country, assuring the North of the President’s commitment to its development.
The Vice-President commended the group for supporting Tinubu and urged its members to intensify mobilisation across wards, communities and local government areas ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Earlier, the Director-General of A4A and former Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru, said the organisation was determined to secure northern support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Badaru disclosed that the group planned to engage Muslim and Christian religious leaders, as well as other influential Nigerians, to canvass support for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.
He said A4A had held several meetings with prominent stakeholders and would continue engaging them to consolidate its political support base.
The former governor added that the organisation was working with the Presidential Campaign Council while concentrating on grassroots mobilisation at the ward and local government levels.
Also speaking, the Chairman of A4A’s Board of Trustees and former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, said the group, which supported Tinubu’s election in 2023, was prepared to repeat the effort in 2027.
Shekarau said the organisation had been consulting northern governors and other stakeholders to identify areas of cooperation in support of the President’s re-election.
He disclosed that A4A was establishing a permanent secretariat to coordinate its activities, with offices for directors and state coordinators responsible for reviewing reports and directing mobilisation efforts.
Shekarau also invited Shettima to commission the organisation’s office complex on October 17, 2027.
Former governors Joshua Dariye of Plateau, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Jolly Nyame of Taraba, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina and Isa Yuguda of Bauchi were among those present at the meeting.
Others included the President’s Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, and the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), alongside other government officials and A4A members.
The meeting comes as political groups and stakeholders begin preparations and mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
