From Cyril Mbah, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to defend the administration’s reforms with facts, radical transparency and measurable results, saying growing Northern support is not a blank check.
Shettima spoke on Saturday in Abuja when he unveiled the Arewa for Asiwaju, (A4A), campaign head office and formally inaugurated the northern think tank’s campaign structure located at No. 4 Port Harcourt Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
The VP said the North has spoken with a resounding voice and unmistakable conviction with the large attendance to the gathering from Adamawa to Zamfara and from Borno to Niger, adding that such confidence places an obligation on office holders to realise that the trust must not be underestimated.
According to him, the President’s bid for a renewed mandate must rest on record and an honest account of how another term would advance the interests of Nigerians, noting that the mandate belongs to the people and must be accounted and acknowledged.
The Vice President acknowledged that citizens have endured difficult adjustments and warned campaigners not to dismiss genuine concerns or rely on slogans, saying government loses its hearing when applause becomes its only source of information.
He said concerns of traders facing higher costs, graduates searching for work and families struggling with daily expenses must remain central to decision-making, because a failed policy enters a home as a missed meal, an unpaid school fee or an opportunity lost.
Shettima defended criticism as essential to democracy, stressing that progress demands assumptions endure examination by those who disagree, and he urged the A4A to serve not merely as an election platform but as a channel for community complaints to reach authority.
He listed administration priorities as security, economic opportunities, poverty reduction, education and stronger public institutions, saying farmers should cultivate in safety and public institutions should give citizens confidence that effort yields opportunity.
In his remarks, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe moved a motion for the North to support the Tinubu/Shettima ticket for a second term, citing inclusive leadership of the President and the President and the unprecedented projects in the North.
Yilwatda mentioned the Trans-Saharan Super Highway, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road, the over 441km, Kano-Maiduguri 500km highway, Ilorin to Sokoto corridor, the AKK gas project now in Abuja heading to Kaduna and Kano with benefits for electricity, CNG and fertiliser, and the 300 dams for irrigation.
Earlier, the Director General of the A4A and former Jigawa Governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, said the group is a coalition formed out of conviction, not accident, formed because evidence shows the administration delivered on infrastructure, social investment, NELFUND student loans and security improvement.
He described the new headquarters as three blocks of three-storey buildings with ensuite offices, large conference room, situation room, a sit-out and fitted with swimming pool, calling it the biggest campaign office in the country and a message that Arewa is serious, organised and ready to take the message to every ward and polling unit.
The event was also addressed by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and the SGF Senator George Akume, who said history beckons on the North to act with wisdom and evidence, while Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf spoke on behalf of the Northern Governors Forum, with serving National Assembly members, ministers, former governors and other northern leaders in attendance.
