Shettima Clarifies: six Northern Governors Backed Tinubu Before The 2022 APC Primary, After The Primary, Northern Governors Rallied Behind Him

The Office of the Vice President has clarified comments by Vice President Kashim Shettima on the backing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received from northern governors before he emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate.

In a statement on 17 September 2026, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima’s reference to six northern governors who “believed in and supported” Tinubu applied only to political consultations and alignments before the APC presidential primary in June 2022.

The office said the remarks were not about the stance of northern APC governors after Tinubu became the party’s candidate, and were not meant to question their support in the 2023 presidential election.

According to the statement, APC governors in the North rallied around the party’s candidate after the primary and played important roles in the campaign that led to Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 general election.

Nkwocha said Shettima holds the northern governors and other APC leaders in high regard and recognises their individual and collective contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s emergence.

The Vice President, the statement added, regrets any interpretation that suggested otherwise and hopes the clarification puts the comments in proper context.