×

Shettima Endorses Akpabio, Barau For 10th NASS Leadership

Shettima stated that the choice of Akpabio as the number three citizen in the country was the best decision made by the party leadership and the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.


A file photo of Kashim Shettima
A file photo of Vice President Kashim Shettima

 

The Vice President-Elect, Kashim Shettima has endorsed Senators-Elect Godswill Akpabio and Jibrin Barau for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.

He voiced his support on Tuesday while addressing the over 70 Senators-Elect led by Senator Ali Ndume, who are members of the Stability Group rooting for the emergence of Akpabio and Barau as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.

Shettima stated that the choice of Akpabio as the number three citizen in the country was the best decision made by the party leadership and the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the interest of a stable polity based on competence.

READ ALSO: Gbajabiamila, Wase In Open Disagreement During Plenary 

“Politics shouldn’t be a means of disuniting our people. It should rather be a means of uniting us. The President-elect and the vice-president elect are both Muslims. It is in the interest of the stability and unity of this country that the next position be given to the Christian faith, if not, it would further validate the alleged Islamisation agenda of the APC-led administration. It would be perceived as a gratuitous insult on our Christian brothers and sisters who stuck out their necks to support us.

“That was why I was quite pleased with the choice of the party leadership that my uncommon brother and leader in the person of Senator Godswill Akpabio should be the number three citizen of this country. The stability of this nation is much more important than whatever political considerations we may think of. We need to have a stabled and united nation before we can talk about politics and positions. This is what our leader could do to unite this country in the current circumstances”.

He stressed that Akpabio “has the exposure, competence and experience to occupy the office of the Senate President in the 10th Senate, ditto Senator Barau, his deputy. Apart from the need for religious balancing, competence and experience also came into play in our choices.”

He said, “Senator Abdulaziz Yari, is my brother and friend. We became governors together in 2011-2019 on the same political platform, but the nation is superior to other personal considerations. I am quite happy with what I see here today. It is a reflection of those who crave for the stability and unity of this country in a bipartisan manner.”

Speaking further, Shettima thanked Governors Nyesom Wike and David Umahi of Rivers and Ebonyi states respectively, for their contributions and support for the party.

“The Governor-General of the South-South, is a man of honor and integrity, whatever you see is what you get as far as Wike is concerned. These are people that have contributed immensely to the stability of this country. Umahi is the best performing Governor in the South East. He’s a man of honor and integrity. He wanted to contest for the Senate Leadership but he had to drop it in reverence to the party’s decision.”