By David Oluwatosin
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has urged northern leaders and residents to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, arguing that the region stands to benefit more from the administration’s policies, appointments and development projects.
Shettima made the appeal on Monday when he received a delegation of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern-based political support group campaigning for Tinubu’s return to office, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Vice-President called for unity among northern leaders and citizens, saying the region had no reason to fear a second term for Tinubu because of the benefits he said it had received under the current administration.
He cited agricultural financing, political appointments and major development projects as evidence of the administration’s commitment to the North.
“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,” Shettima said.
He disclosed that the Bank of Agriculture had disbursed ₦450bn to 700,000 smallholder farmers across Nigeria, with about 70 per cent of the beneficiaries reportedly coming from the northern region.
“The President loves the North and the President will work for the North,” he added, assuring the delegation of Tinubu’s commitment to the region’s development.
Shettima commended the group for its support for the President and urged its members to intensify mobilisation across wards, communities and local government areas ahead of the 2027 election.
Earlier, the Director-General of A4A, former Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru, said the organisation would continue its campaign until it secured renewed northern support for Tinubu.
Badaru disclosed that the group planned to engage religious leaders, including Muslim and Christian clerics, as well as other influential Nigerians, to persuade them to support the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in the next presidential election.
He said the organisation had held several meetings with prominent stakeholders and that its Board of Trustees was preparing further engagements to consolidate its mobilisation efforts.
Badaru also said A4A was working with the Presidential Campaign Council on grassroots mobilisation, particularly at the ward and local government levels.
According to him, the group intends to concentrate on local contacts and community-level engagement while supporting the broader activities of the presidential campaign structure.
The Chairman of A4A’s Board of Trustees and former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, said the organisation, which supported Tinubu’s election in 2023, was determined to repeat the effort in 2027.
Shekarau disclosed that the group had been engaging northern governors and other stakeholders to identify areas of collaboration and strengthen support for the President’s re-election.
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He also announced plans to establish a permanent secretariat to coordinate the organisation’s activities across the region.
The proposed facility would house directors and provide a central point for state coordinators to submit reports, assess progress and receive directives for grassroots mobilisation.
Shekarau invited Shettima to commission the organisation’s office complex, scheduled for October 17, 2027, according to the statement.
The meeting was attended by several former state governors, including Joshua Dariye and Simon Lalong of Plateau State; Jolly Nyame of Taraba State; Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina State; and Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State.
Also present were the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman; Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Buba Marwa; and other government officials and members of the A4A board and secretariat.
The meeting highlights ongoing efforts by pro-Tinubu groups to consolidate political support ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the North emerging as a key focus of mobilisation.
However, the eventual electoral outcome will depend on voter choices and the broader political dynamics leading up to the polls.
