The Office of the Vice President has clarified comments by Kashim Shettima regarding the number of northern governors who supported President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Shettima had said on Wednesday that only six of the 19 northern governors “believed and supported” Tinubu, while speaking at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate.

In a statement on Thursday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima was referring specifically to political consultations and alignments before the APC presidential primary in June 2022.

Nkwocha said the comment should not be interpreted to mean that northern APC governors failed to support Tinubu after he emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.

He said the governors subsequently rallied behind Tinubu and played important roles in the APC campaign that culminated in his victory at the 2023 presidential election.

Shettima had identified former Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and AbdulRazaq as two of the six governors who supported Tinubu before the primary but declined to name the others, saying he wanted to avoid controversy.

The Vice President had also said Tinubu reconciled with northern governors who did not support his presidential bid after the 2023 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.

He added that Shettima regretted any interpretation of his remarks suggesting otherwise, saying the clarification was intended to place the comments in their proper context.