Daily Trust

POLITICS Shettima to Buhari: It’s payback time for Tinubu Our task is to deliver Asiwaju – Babachir

- By Saawua Terzungwe & Baba Martins

Aformer governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said 2023 is payback time for the National Leader of the All Progressiv­es Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Shettima, who chaired a nationwide conference of the Tinubu Support Groups (TSG) held on Monday in Abuja, said none of the 2023 presidenti­al aspirants has made sacrifices to the growth of the nation’s democracy than Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State.

He said the top echelon of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari should compensate Tinubu for his political contributi­ons to the formation of the APC and ensure that Buhari won the presidenti­al election in 2015.

Senator Shettima argued that for the sake of equity, fairness and justice, APC should zone its 2023 presidenti­al ticket to the South and give Tinubu the right of first refusal.

“In 2015, some aspirants with very huge war chests were itching to clinch the ticket of the APC, but like the Rock of Gibraltar,

Asiwaju and his progressiv­e team stood solidly behind the candidacy of President Buhari.

“My simple question, distinguis­hed ladies and gentlemen is, where were the new members of what I call ‘the Buhari’s church of latter days’ saints’; where were they?

“We knew where their political loyalty lay in that particular convention when Buhari emerged as the presidenti­al candidate of the APC. Where were they?

“Some people say everything goes in politics. Not everything goes in politics. We shall have minimal thresholds below which we won’t operate and the irreducibl­e minimum is that after eight years of presidency in the North, the logic, common sense, equity, justice and fairness demand that power should move to the southern part of the country,” he said.

“And who is better qualified? Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu should be given the choice of first refusal. More than any other person, he has sacrificed more for this democracy; for the APC.

Shettima described Tinubu as a tested, accomplish­ed and largeheart­ed leader who has invested his resources in building an extensive network of political mentees who have risen to the peak of their careers.

He tackled those who are saying Tinubu is unfit to be the country’s president due to illhealth.

“The mark of true leadership isn’t the ability to lift a bag of cement. It’s the mental effort to think rationally of solutions designed to redeem one’s people and territoria­l jurisdicti­on,” he said.

Similarly, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, said the event was to present Tinubu as the APC flag bearer.

“Therefore our task, beginning from today, is to develop a smart strategic plan that we will faithfully execute to deliver Sen Tinubu as the candidate of APC and to thereafter deliver him as a landslide winner of the 2023 presidenti­al election,” he said.

Some of the dignitarie­s at the event were Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Hamisu Chidari; Senator Abu Ibrahim; member of the House of Representa­tives, James Faleke and Abdulmumin Jibrin among others.

 ?? ?? From left: Member, House of Representa­tives, Hon. James Faleke; former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal; Senator Abu Ibrahim; and Director-General, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support Groups Management Council, Hon. Abdulmumin­i Jubrin, during the support groups’ conference in Abuja yesterday
From left: Member, House of Representa­tives, Hon. James Faleke; former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal; Senator Abu Ibrahim; and Director-General, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support Groups Management Council, Hon. Abdulmumin­i Jubrin, during the support groups’ conference in Abuja yesterday

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