Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged the North to rally behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying the region has nothing to fear from another four years and stands to benefit even more if he wins in 2027.
Shettima made the remarks at the State House, Abuja, while receiving a delegation of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), a northern political group campaigning for Tinubu’s second term. He urged northern leaders and citizens to see another Tinubu presidency as a chance to consolidate gains already recorded in appointments, agriculture and infrastructure.
“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,” he said.
He said the Bank of Agriculture had disbursed N450 billion to 700,000 smallholder farmers nationwide, with about 70 per cent of the beneficiaries from the North.
Shettima also said the administration was working to complete major infrastructure projects. “I can assure you that the president loves the North and the president will work for the North,” he said.
He urged the group to step up mobilisation across wards, communities and local government areas ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
A4A’s plans
The Director General of A4A and former Jigawa State governor, Abubakar Badaru, said the group would keep up its mobilisation until Tinubu is re-elected. He said it plans to engage religious leaders, including Muslim and Christian clerics, and other prominent Nigerians to build support for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.
“On discussions with the high profile, we have gone far. We have met them several times and the BoT is meeting them again to consolidate our gains and to tell them why there is a need to support this ticket,” he said.
Badaru added that the group is working with the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) while focusing on grassroots mobilisation.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees and former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, said the group, which backed Tinubu in 2023, was determined to repeat the feat in 2027. He said it had been engaging northern governors and other stakeholders, and had finalised plans for a full secretariat with offices for directors and state coordinators.
Shekarau formally invited Shettima to inaugurate the organisation’s office complex on Saturday, October 17, 2026.
Also at the meeting were former governors Joshua Dariye and Simon Lalong (Plateau), Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), as well as the President’s Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, and NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa.
Idris: Reforms yielding results
Separately, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the administration’s economic reforms were beginning to deliver measurable results. He cited falling inflation, rising foreign exchange reserves, improved oil production and increased investment in infrastructure and social programmes.
Speaking at a media chat with senior editors at Radio House, Abuja, Idris acknowledged that many households still face cost-of-living pressures. He said the government’s priority was to ensure that macroeconomic gains translate into cheaper essentials, stronger purchasing power and better living conditions.
“Our task now is to ensure that this clear macroeconomic recovery is felt even more widely in the lives and households of Nigerians,” he said.
He said the economy was on course to grow by more than 4 per cent in 2026. Nigeria recorded a current account surplus of $12 billion in the first half of 2026, up from $8.6 billion in the same period of 2025, he added. Inflation, he said, fell from about 27 per cent in January 2025 to around 15 per cent, with the target of single digits.
Idris said external reserves exceeded $54 billion in September, the highest in almost two decades. Recent reports citing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data put reserves at about $55.07 billion on October 8. He added that the World Bank projects average annual growth of 4.4 per cent through 2028, subject to continued reforms, and that Nigeria earned over $6 billion from non-oil exports in 2025, the highest on record.
Infrastructure and food security
Idris said the administration’s four legacy projects cover about 3,000 kilometres across the six geopolitical zones. He also pointed to the recently approved N1.5 trillion highway project in Niger State, which he said would improve connectivity along an important agricultural and commercial corridor.
He said food security was central to Tinubu’s economic policy, with interventions in mechanisation, farm inputs, irrigation and agricultural financing aimed at raising output, improving farmers’ incomes and lowering food prices.
Health, education and social programmes
- Two more cancer treatment centres have been commissioned, bringing the total to five, with a target of 10.
- The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has supported over 1.6 million students, with more than N192 billion paid in institutional fees and about N180 billion in upkeep allowances.
- The Three Million Technical Talent programme is expanding access to digital skills such as software development, data science and cybersecurity.
- The Presidential CNG and Electric Vehicle Initiative has attracted about $2.5 billion in private investment and N250 billion in government funding and commitments. More than 120,000 vehicles have been converted, with over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 refuelling stations. About 180 more stations are under development.
- A N758 billion bond has been issued to clear pension arrears dating back to 2007, benefiting almost one million pensioners.
- A N1.2 trillion bond has been issued to settle inherited debts owed to power generation and gas companies.
- The National Social Register is directing support to over 10 million households, while the Consumer Credit Corporation is helping workers spread the cost of essential purchases.
Security and fuel prices
On security, Idris said the government had strengthened the Armed Forces, intelligence services and other agencies through better coordination, equipment and logistics. He said terrorist commanders and criminal kingpins had been neutralised, hostages rescued and criminal enclaves dismantled. He also cited operations in the Niger Delta against crude oil theft, illegal refining and pipeline vandalism, which he said had boosted oil production and protected revenue.
On fuel prices, he acknowledged that rising energy costs were hurting households and businesses. He said governments worldwide were adopting measures to cushion the effects, and that Tinubu remained committed to the reforms while protecting public welfare.
Udeh: Tinubu deserves second term
Meanwhile, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh (SAN), also defended Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying the president deserves another four years to complete his “bold” economic reforms.
Udeh, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, spoke on Arise News Prime Time. He said Tinubu has the capability to lead Nigeria out of its challenges.
He backed the position that the presidency should remain in the South until 2031 under the power rotation arrangement. Responding to challenges from fellow southerners on opposition tickets, he said the South-West should retain it because Tinubu is from the zone.
Udeh acknowledged that the South-East has not produced an elected president but said he believed it would happen in future, adding that winning the presidency would ultimately depend on votes from across the country.
Asked about the APC’s argument for re-election, he said Tinubu, still in his first term, had started reforms that were beginning to make a positive impact. “It is not yet fully realised, but you can even tell that we are no longer as bad as we were in 2023, 2024,” he said.
He said growth had risen from about 2 per cent in 2023 to about 4 per cent, and that higher revenue to sub-national governments was enabling states and councils to undertake development projects. He described developments in Enugu State’s infrastructure and transportation as unprecedented.
Conceding that the benefits had yet to reach many Nigerians, Udeh said: “We know that there’s inflation. We know that there’s still hardship. But we also know that Nigeria has been put on the track for development, to come out from economic hardship.”
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