Stakeholders in Borno have lauded the choice of Sen. Kashim Shettima as running mate to All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Stakeholders who spoke with our correspondent in Maiduguri on Monday said it Shettima’s choice was good news to the people of the state.
Borno’s deputy governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, said Shettima’s emergence was well-deserved and a welcome development.
Kadafur said he is very proud of Shettima for pursuing and achieving his ambition and wished him more successes in his career which was earned through hard work, commitment and dedication.
Kadafur said Shettima’s choice also meant more responsibility and authority, adding that the vice-presidential candidate has the capacity to bring great things to the nation.
In her remarks, Rep. Zainab Gimba (APC-Bama/Ngala/ Kala-Balge), said the choice was a good one that would add value to the ticket.
Gimba commended Tinubu for choosing Shettima and urged the people of Borno who know Shettima better in terms of service delivery to work for the success of APC in Borno and in Nigeria.
On his part, Rep. Satomi Ahmad (APC-Jere), said that the choice of Sen. Shettima was very significant especially at a time Nigeria was faced with many challenges, particularly that of security.
Satomi noted the efforts of Shettima as Borno governor at the peak of Boko Haram insurgency and how he mobilised youths into the Civilian Joint Task Force to support the military in chasing out them out of Maiduguri.
“I send my congratulations to Sen. Kashim Shettima as he will be the first Kanuri man in the APC to attain this height.
“He is an Agricultural Economist, a banker and a lawyer with vast experience as former governor and a legislator.
“He is the first politician in the Northeast to lead the northern part of Nigeria to victory come 2023 as vice-president to Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu,’’ he said.
Alhaji Ciroma Usman, an APC chieftain in Borno said that the emergence of Shettima, even though it was much expected, was wise choice by Tinubu.
“I believe that Shettima will be the head of Nigeria’s economic team and am sure he will bring his long-time economic experience to revolutionise the sector.
“Shettima is humble and I believe he is a true unifier. He is a detribalised Nigerian who has virtually carried every Nigerian on board in his government when he was Borno governor.
“One of my colleagues, whom I have worked with as Shettima’s aide for six years is an Ijaw man from the South-South. This is a man that has both Igbo and Yoruba as his Advisers.
“He is also a man that believes in oneness of Nigeria. I could remember he once went against his kinsmen on the issue of exit of non-indigenes from the north,’’ Usman said.
Another respondent, Shehu Wajes, said the choice of Shettima as Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s running mate was a political perfection of the ruling party.
Wajes described Shettima as very intelligent and has the requisite communication skills to handle his assigned tasks as vice-president.
Usman Alkali, a legal luminary said the delay in announcing Shettima as running mate to Tinubu showed that the presidential candidate and the APC are calculative.