Vice President Kashim Shettima said Nigeria had completed the most difficult part of its economic reset, urging voters to renew President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate for a second term.
Stanley Nkwocha, a senior official in the Vice President’s Office, said Shettima spoke at an APC presidential campaign event in Calabar, Cross River State, on Monday. Shettima asked Nigerians to return Tinubu and himself to office in the Jan. 16, 2027, presidential election. In a separate appeal, he called on Cross River State voters to support another term for Cross River Gov. Bassey Edet Otu and Deputy Gov. Peter Odey.
Shettima said the administration had completed the most difficult portion of its economic reset. He described the reforms as painful but necessary and said they had prepared the ground for future prosperity. He argued that opposition parties lacked the capacity to alter Nigeria’s economic direction. A renewed mandate, he said, would give the government a second term to continue its work and deliver tangible returns to citizens.
He tied the campaign pitch to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which he said reflected the administration’s aim to open Cross River State to the world after taking office in 2023. Shettima said the project would improve links among coastal communities and help people and goods move more easily. He also said it would support tourism and investment, and projected thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Cross River State, he said, would be a major beneficiary of the government’s economic program.
Shettima praised the Cross River APC for unity and discipline, saying the party’s organization had contributed to diligence in government. The rally was the party’s second major campaign gathering after Tinubu opened presidential campaigning in Kaduna on Oct. 24. Shettima said authority belonged to the people and the administration was asking voters for the chance to continue its work.
