**office says comments were about pre-primary consultations, not 2023 election support

Vice President Kashim Shettima has clarified his remarks on the support President Bola Tinubu received from northern governors, with his office saying the comments referred specifically to political consultations and alignments ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in June 2022.

In a clarification issued by the Office of the Vice President, the office said Shettima’s reference to six northern governors who believed in and supported Tinubu was limited to the period preceding the APC primary and was not intended to question the governors’ subsequent support for Tinubu’s presidential bid.

“The Vice President’s reference to six northern governors who believed in and supported President Tinubu was specifically about political consultations and alignments preceding the APC presidential primary in June 2022,” the statement said.

The clarification followed interpretations of Shettima’s recent remarks that suggested some northern APC governors may not have supported Tinubu after he emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.

According to the Vice President’s office, however, the remarks “were not a comment on the position of northern APC governors following President Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s candidate, nor was it intended to question their support during the 2023 presidential election.”

The office said that after the presidential primary, APC governors in the North rallied around Tinubu and played important roles in the party’s campaign and electoral efforts that culminated in his victory in the 2023 general election.

It added that Shettima “holds the northern governors and other leaders of the APC in high regard” and recognises their individual and collective contributions to the party’s success and Tinubu’s emergence as President.

“The Vice President regrets any interpretation of his remarks that may have suggested otherwise and hopes this clarification places the comments in their proper context,” the statement said.

The Vice President’s office also expressed appreciation to the Nigerian media for what it described as its longstanding professionalism and constructive engagement with the office.

It urged continued accuracy and proper context in the reporting of public remarks as the country approaches another political season.

The clarification issued, Thursday, by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Communication, therefore draws a clear distinction between the political consultations and alignments preceding the APC’s June 2022 presidential primary and the subsequent mobilisation of northern APC governors behind Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign.