Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that no more than six of the North’s 19 governors supported President Bola Tinubu’s bid for the ruling party’s ticket ahead of the 2023 election, offering a rare public account of how thin the President’s regional backing was at the time.
Shettima made the remark on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate.
According to the Vice President, only AbdulRazaq and the then Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, could be named openly, and he declined to identify the four others to avoid controversy. “We have 19 states in the North. Apart from Niger former governor Abubakar Sani Bello, seated here, and Malam Abdurrahman AbdulRazaq, to avoid controversy, I will stop naming the names of the other governors,” he said, adding that Tinubu pressed on despite the limited support.
The account is notable because Tinubu contested the All Progressives Congress primary in June 2022 against strong internal rivals, including then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Senate President Ahmad Lawan, at a time when several northern governors were pushing for the presidency to remain in the region after eight years of Muhammadu Buhari. Shettima’s figure puts a number on resistance that was widely reported at the time but rarely quantified by those inside the camp.
Shettima framed the disclosure as a lesson in political conduct rather than grievance. He urged politicians to stop treating contests as a “game of death” and to reconcile after elections, saying Tinubu had done exactly that once he won. “After the 2023 election, President Tinubu hugged and forgave all other northern governors that did not support him. That is a mark of a good leader,” the Vice President said.
He also linked Tinubu’s approach to the late Buhari, describing the former President as a leader who would not be arm twisted in political negotiations. The comparison came as Shettima commended the administration’s policies and called on Kwara politicians to close ranks after the state’s APC primaries.
Turning to the economy, Shettima said the administration inherited about $3.9 billion when it took office and met an economy he described as on the verge of collapse. He said Tinubu chose to take on the challenge rather than blame his predecessor, and directed the economic team to press ahead with reforms. “The economic team forged ahead to turn the economy around. Today, Nigeria is better for it,” he said.
That $3.9 billion figure needs context, because it does not refer to Nigeria’s total foreign reserves at the handover. Central Bank of Nigeria data showed gross external reserves of about $35.09 billion on 30 May 2023, days before the foreign exchange market was liberalised. The lower figure matches the net reserves position, which strips out swaps and forward commitments. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has said net reserves stood at $3.99 billion at the end of 2023, rising to about $34.80 billion by the close of 2025, with gross reserves crossing $50 billion in 2026. Shettima’s number therefore reflects the net measure rather than the headline reserves often quoted in public debate.
The claim about northern support arrives as the region’s political loyalties are again in focus ahead of 2027. Several northern blocs and governors have publicly endorsed Tinubu’s re election, while opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, have moved into rival platforms. Speculation over whether the APC will retain Shettima on the ticket has persisted through 2026, though the party has repeatedly dismissed talk of replacing him.
The event in Ilorin itself carried political weight. The conferment of a senior traditional title on AbdulRazaq, one of the two governors Shettima named as early Tinubu supporters, underlined the alliances the President is leaning on in the North Central as the next cycle approaches. Shettima congratulated the governor and said the honour came with a responsibility to remain accessible to the people.
The Vice President did not name the four unnamed governors, and his account has not been independently corroborated by a documented list of who backed Tinubu during the 2022 primary. What is on record is that the contest was closely fought and that Tinubu secured the ticket with 1,271 votes against Amaechi’s 316 and Osinbajo’s 235.
For now, Shettima’s remarks stand as a first person recollection from within the winning camp rather than a verified tally. They add to a growing body of statements from senior administration figures seeking to cast the 2023 victory as one achieved against the odds, a framing likely to feature heavily as the APC builds its case for a second term.