Vice-President Kashim Shettima has predicted that northern voters will give President Bola Tinubu a larger share of their votes in the 2027 presidential election than they did in 2023.
Shettima made the declaration on Saturday in Abuja during the inauguration of the national secretariat of Arewa for Asiwaju, a group campaigning for Tinubu’s re-election.
The Vice-President said the North had demonstrated confidence in the President’s leadership and urged political leaders in the region to sustain their support for the administration.
He recalled that the region accounted for 60.2 per cent of the votes Tinubu received in the 2023 election, expressing confidence that the figure would increase in the next poll.
Shettima, however, acknowledged that many Nigerians were still facing economic difficulties, urging the government to recognise the challenges citizens encounter and explain how another term would improve their lives.
He called on political leaders to pay attention to traders struggling with rising prices and graduates unable to find jobs, stressing that government policies should reflect the realities of ordinary Nigerians.
Defending the administration’s economic record, Shettima said the economy had stabilised despite ongoing difficulties. He also cited the clearance of Ways and Means advances and foreign reserves reportedly approaching $58.9bn as signs of progress.
He further said the North stood to benefit from the administration’s agricultural initiatives, noting that Tinubu had asked him to chair an upcoming agricultural meeting.
Also speaking at the event, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, predicted that Tinubu could secure more than 70 per cent of the votes in the North in 2027.
Yilwatda pointed to road construction, railway development, healthcare programmes, irrigation projects and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as reasons for the region to support the President’s re-election.
He also praised Tinubu for bringing people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds together, arguing that the administration had created an inclusive political environment.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin described the launch of the campaign structure as timely, saying it would provide a platform to mobilise support for Tinubu across northern communities.
Former Defence Minister and Director-General of Arewa for Asiwaju, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, also defended the President’s record on infrastructure, education, social investment and security.
Badaru said the group planned to expand its campaign across the region through governors, lawmakers, traditional institutions and young people, with mobilisation extending to wards, local government areas and states.
The campaign secretariat, according to Badaru, consists of three blocks of three-storey buildings, with offices, a conference room and a situation room for coordinating campaign activities.
