A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kebbi State, Mallam Salihu Isa Nataro, has advised the Kebbi State Governor, Dr Mohammed Idris, to focus on delivering the dividends of democracy to Kebbi instead of getting involved in the distraction of who will be President Bola Tinubu’s running mate in 2027.

Nataro explained that his call on Vice President Kashim Shettima to consider excusing himself from office was a personal opinion on how to avert the ongoing distractions and concerns for the impact of politicking on the success of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The APC chieftain regretted that instead of Governor Idris to concern himself with the insecurity and rising poverty in Kebbi caused by his wrong policy choices, he mobilised his aides to mount vicious attacks on his person.

“In a space of 24 hours, I received a lot of threatening messages and abuses for no justifiable reasons. The last time I checked, Governor Idris did not work for the success of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket,” he said.

“President Tinubu knows my contributions to the joint ticket and to our great party. I do not want to speak about President Tinubu’s closeness to my family, because I have never fought for personal aggrandisement. My interest in public service is to fight for the less privileged.

“My philanthropic activities accord with the tradition of my royal family in Jega. So, for Governor Idris’ goons to claim that I am a nobody, flies in the face. The governor is hiding behind my call on Shettima to consider quitting if it is obvious that he was no longer wanted, to attack my person.”

While noting that the Kebbi governor has not forgiven him for asking him to publish the state’s revenue and expenditure profile, Nataro recalled how the governor instigated the Ministry of Works to demolish his family’s house after calling him out on reckless spending and blind contract awards.

He stated: “Governor Idris should recall that I am a former governorship candidate under National Democratic Party (NDP) and contested against Usman Dakingari. The records are there with INEC and are well-known by Kebbi people who voted massively for me.

“I was also visible during the formation of APC, when I worked with the likes of Mallam Mamman Daura, Dr Mahmud Tukur, and Sule Hamman from Kano State. As a proud member of APC from Jega, I am well known to President Tinubu and Governor Idris cannot deny that I contributed to the Tinubu administration more than many cabinet members from the state, because the records are there for all to see.”

Regarding the reason for his suggestion that the Vice President consider resigning, Nataro, who is also a public sector reform advocate, stated that his opinion was informed by his personal admiration for Vice President Shettima’s single-minded contributions to the success of the Tinubu Presidency.

“But the fact remains that the choice of a Presidential running mate remains the exclusive preserve of the President or Presidential candidate. The discussion about who will run with President Tinubu in 2027 is purely political, and such matters are more of a distraction.

“I do not have any grudges with the Vice President, nor am I among those lobbying to replace him. All I said was that if Shettima feels that some people see him as a cog in the wheel of progress or an obstacle to the realisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda, he should just give way.

“For me, the future of APC and President Tinubu rests squarely on the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda. All hands should be on deck to execute the agenda. I made these facts in my presentations to various agencies of government as a public accounts expert,” he stated.

He said Governor Idris cannot frighten away all APC stakeholders, noting that in 2027, if his people insist that he will contest the governorship again, only God, not man, can stop him.

While stressing that the people of Borno are his business partners, Nataro declared that he did not see anything in his call to warrant threats or media attacks, even as he urged Governor Idris to address the issue of reckless spending that he raised during one of his press conferences.