Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, stating that he is a man who lives modestly.
Shettima spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the launch of a book titled Navigating the Politics of Universal Education Policies in Nigeria authored by Prof Modupe Adelabu, a retired professor of educational administration at the Department of Educational Management at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
“In President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we have a leader that we can invest our trust in. I’m not playing politics, I’m speaking from the heart. I have seen the soul of Bola Tinubu, and he has a good soul,” he said.
“He means well for the nation. He wants to live in a place of glory. He is not in power to engage in primitive capital accumulation. He is in power to leave landmarks in the sands of time. He is the most demonised politician in Nigeria. The first time I went to his house at Bourdillon, I was looking forward to seeing a mansion comparable to the Buckingham Palace, with gardens, and swimming pools, but there was nothing special about that house. My house in Maiduguri is better than the house in Bourdillon.
“And at the formative stage of the APC, we held a meeting in his house. They served us a variety of meals but he opted to take garri with groundnut for lunch. Since I have known him, he has been using only one wristwatch, and in fact, I dress better than him. He doesn’t even care. He has overcome all those odds to dress well. So we need to rally around this poor man. He has taken some bold steps. The economy that we met was in a huge mess.
“But it wasn’t for us, we were part of the Buhari administration, we cannot deny that. We belong to the political family. It’s not about apportioning blame, but it’s about finding solutions to our nation’s needs. We knew there were challenges. Forget about the politics being played by the Atiku Abubakar and the Obidient crowd, they all said they are going to withdraw the fuel subsidy.”
Shettima said the economy is now on a path to sustained growth.
Expressing concern over the years of neglect in basic education across northern Nigeria, Shettima highlighted the troubling involvement of underage children in the recent nationwide governance protests.
Some of the attendees include Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, Bisi Akande, Pius Akinyelure, chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila; and former Ekiti governors, Adeniyi Adebayo and Kayode Fayemi.
