Vice President Kashim Shettima has defended the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu, admitting that while the measures have brought hardship, they are starting to show positive outcomes. Speaking on behalf of the President at the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Calabar, Cross River State, Shettima appealed to citizens to support the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Addressing the gathering at the U.J. Esuene Stadium on Monday, Shettima urged Nigerians to evaluate the current administration by comparing the state of the nation today with the conditions inherited in 2023. According to Punch, the Vice President compared Tinubu's leadership style to that of Singapore's founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who guided a struggling territory into a prominent global financial center.
Shettima stated that major national transformation demands leaders who can confront tough realities and implement choices with lasting consequences. He told the crowd that Cross River remains politically strategic to the ruling party and deserves stronger federal engagement, calling on residents to renew the mandates of Tinubu, Governor Bassey Otu, Deputy Governor Peter Odey, and other party candidates.
Governor Bassey Otu assured the party leadership that Cross River would deliver maximum votes for Tinubu in the upcoming polls. Otu pointed to several federal projects expected to boost the state's economy, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the planned Bakassi Deep Seaport, and the proposed location of the Gulf of Guinea Commission Secretariat in Calabar, alongside the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
The event drew top political figures, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno, and the Deputy Director-General of the Campaign Council, Adams Oshiomhole.
