Adebayo Shittu, a former Minister of Communications, has said Bola Tinubu, presidential flagbearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), picked Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2023 election because the former Borno State governor ‘sustained orderliness in a zone nearly occupied by Boko Haram insurgents’.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Shittu, a chieftain of the APC in Oyo State and Director General (DG) of the Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance, stated this in an interview with Punch.
He vowed that with the Tinubu-Shettima ticket, the APC will defeat their major rival, Atiku Abubakar (Peoples Democratic Party, PDP), even in his home state, Adamawa.
“An election is not where any candidate will want to take unnecessary risks. Remember that our vice presidential candidate (Shettima) is someone who for eight years sustained governance and orderliness in a zone nearly occupied by Boko Haram and ISWAP criminals.
Asked if that explains the reason Tinubu chose him, the former Oyo State gubernatorial aspirant replied: “Was that not a good enough reason to look for somebody who can be trusted to run good governance?
“We want to win votes, and we thank God we have somebody who delivers. It wouldn’t have made sense to pick a minority. It is about who can deliver the votes, and it is the prerogative of the presidential candidate to choose his running mate. It is not about religion.
“We are preparing for an election. It is the prerogative of the presidential candidate to choose who he deems fit and whose votes can make him win at the poll.
“By the grace of God, we will defeat Atiku even in Adamawa, his home state.”
