RismadarVoice Reporters
October 25, 2026
Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged voters in northern Nigeria to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, arguing that the region should reciprocate the president’s longstanding political support for northern leaders.
Shettima appealed on Saturday during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign launch at the Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna.
The vice president said Tinubu had consistently supported northern politicians, including former President Muhammadu Buhari, and deserved similar backing in his bid for a second term.
He recalled Tinubu’s support for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the 2007 presidential election after Atiku’s departure from the Peoples Democratic Party.
Shettima also cited Tinubu’s backing of Nuhu Ribadu, who contested the 2011 presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria.
He further highlighted Tinubu’s role in mobilising political support for Buhari during the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections.
According to Shettima, these alliances demonstrated Tinubu’s longstanding relationship with northern political leaders.
The vice president urged voters to support APC candidates at all levels of government, describing another mandate for Tinubu as an opportunity to sustain the administration’s policies and development programmes.
Defending the government’s performance, Shettima pointed to investments in education, infrastructure and vocational training across northern Nigeria.
He cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia and the transition of the institution in Zaria to the Federal University of Education.
He also mentioned vocational training facilities in Rigachikun and other parts of Kaduna State as examples of initiatives intended to expand educational and employment opportunities.
On infrastructure, Shettima highlighted work on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the Kano-Maradi railway and the Lagos-Kano rail corridor.
He also referred to the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road project and ongoing construction of the Sokoto-Badagry highway, which he said would improve transportation and support agricultural production.
The vice president maintained that the administration had made progress on projects inherited from previous governments while introducing additional development initiatives.
At the rally, Tinubu also inaugurated an 81-kilometre section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway, according to the Presidency.
Shettima expressed confidence in the administration’s record and said further projects would be pursued if the APC secured another mandate.
His remarks formed part of the ruling party’s campaign to consolidate support ahead of the 2027 general elections, amid continuing public debate over economic conditions, infrastructure delivery and national security.
