Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed greater concern over internal divisions within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) than the opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Shettima spoke on Saturday in Abuja at the unveiling of the campaign headquarters of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern coalition supporting the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and the Vice President, where the group’s campaign structure was also inaugurated.
“Honestly, I am not afraid of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I am not afraid of a diminished Peter Obi. But I am more afraid of internal contradictions within our household. If we unite as a people, as a family, we will conquer,” he said.
The Vice President urged northern political leaders to avoid pursuing the presidential election at the expense of APC governors and other candidates contesting elective positions in their respective states.
“There is no point in championing the cause of the presidential election and then undermining the governor in the gubernatorial election. Honestly, it will not go down well with the system,” he said.
He called on party members to rally behind Tinubu, APC governors and members of the National Assembly to improve the party’s chances in the forthcoming elections.
“Let’s rally round our governors. Let’s rally round our members of the National Assembly. Let’s rally round President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and see to the victory in the next round of elections,” he added.
Shettima also expressed confidence in the APC’s prospects in the North, insisting that the region had demonstrated its support for the ruling party.
“By now, I believe the North has spoken. We have spoken with a resounding voice and unmistakable conviction. From Adamawa to Zamfara, from Borno to Niger, we have spoken,” he said.
With the election approaching, he urged party supporters to intensify their mobilisation efforts and prepare to defend the administration’s record before voters.
“In less than 100 days, Nigerians will return to the polls. Democracy requires us to seek their confidence again, with humility about the work outstanding and conviction about the cause we have chosen,” he said.
Addressing the challenge posed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Shettima urged APC members to defeat him through legitimate political engagement.
“Go and perform. Go and defeat Baba Atiku. Defeat him respectfully,” he said.
He said the APC had sufficient personnel to mobilise voters across the country, citing the party’s claimed strength of 361,045 officials at ward and local government levels against 176,845 polling units nationwide.
According to him, the figures indicate that the party has the capacity to deploy at least two officials to every polling unit.
Shettima further stressed the importance of grassroots mobilisation, saying political appointees must demonstrate their influence and performance in their communities rather than rely solely on their positions.
“Politics is still local,” he said, explaining that he had directed the Borno State governor to compile a list of political appointees from the state down to the local government level.
He said each appointee would be expected to account for their political performance at their polling unit, ward and local government.
On the APC’s strength in the North, Shettima said 18 of the region’s 19 states were controlled by the party. He also claimed that 15 of the 18 members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) representing Kano State in the House of Representatives had defected to the APC, adding that the state governor was aligned with the ruling party.
The Vice President, however, acknowledged the economic difficulties facing many Nigerians, warning that the administration must remain conscious of the hardship experienced by households.
“Every household struggling to make ends meet reminds us how much remains to be done,” he said.
“We lose our hearing when applause becomes our only source of information.”
Defending the administration’s economic policies, Shettima said Tinubu inherited a fragile economy, with foreign reserves of $3.9bn and Ways and Means advances exceeding N27tn.
“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed the mantle of leadership in this country, what we had in our foreign reserves was a country with 3.9 billion dollars, barely enough to import oil for one month. And our Ways and Means expenditure was over N27 trillion.
“Nigeria was on the road to Caracas. The economy was teetering on the brink of collapse. He literally saved the nation,” he said.
He added that the country’s foreign reserves had risen to about $58.9bn, describing the development as a major improvement under the Tinubu administration.
Shettima also assured northern Nigerians that a second Tinubu term would protect their interests.
“For the North, we have absolutely nothing to fear in a Tinubu second term. He has the North at heart,” he said.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, also called for Tinubu’s re-election, moving a motion at the event for the President to secure a second term and asking attendees to affirm their support.
“Today is a time for us to renew a mandate that was largely supported by the North, and the North again will largely support the return of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term,” Yilwatda said.
He pointed to federal infrastructure projects in the region, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Kano-Maiduguri highways, as evidence of the administration’s commitment to northern development.
“Those two roads alone are over 900 kilometres, more than the 700 kilometres of Lagos Road,” he said.
Earlier, the Director-General of A4A and former Jigawa State governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, announced that the coalition’s campaign headquarters was located at No. 4 Port Harcourt Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
Badaru described the facility as “the biggest campaign office anywhere in the country”, saying its establishment demonstrated the coalition’s commitment to securing another term for Tinubu and Shettima.
“Let it be understood that this building is more than just a campaign office. It is a message. It says that Arewa is serious,” he said.
He said the coalition would conduct a disciplined, peaceful and issue-based campaign, taking its message to markets, farms, campuses, mosques and churches across the country.
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