Vice President Kashim Shettima has acknowledged that Nigerians have endured difficult economic adjustments but warned campaigners against dismissing genuine concerns or relying on political slogans to defend government policies.

Mr Shettima said this on Saturday in Abuja when he unveiled the Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A) campaign head office and formally inaugurated the campaign structure of the northern think tank.

“Our citizens have endured difficult adjustments. We cannot pretend otherwise,” he said. “What we owe them is an honest account of the decisions taken, the gains achieved and the difficulties that persist.”

”We lose our hearing when applause becomes our only source of information,” he added.

Mr Shettima said the concerns of traders facing higher costs, graduates searching for work and families struggling with daily expenses must remain central to government decision-making.

“A failed policy enters somebody’s home as a missed meal, an unpaid school fee or an opportunity lost,” he said.

He also defended criticism as essential to democratic governance, saying President Bola Tinubu’s administration must remain open to useful ideas irrespective of political affiliation, ethnicity, religion or region.

“There is no democracy without critics. Progress demands that our assumptions endure the examination of those who disagree with us,” Mr Shettima said.

The vice president said the administration’s priorities remain security, economic opportunity, poverty reduction, education and stronger public institutions.

Mr Shettima added that while elections create a deadline for political persuasion, government obligations continue beyond campaign periods.

He said the growing northern support for Mr Tinubu’s re-election is not a blank cheque.

“By now, I believe the North has spoken. We have spoken with a resounding voice and unmistakable conviction.

“From Adamawa to Zamfara, from Borno to Niger States, we have spoken. Such confidence places an obligation upon us that no officeholder should ever underestimate,” he stated.

Mr Shettima maintained that expanding loyalty in the region demands greater accountability and an honest dialogue with citizens about ongoing reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration.

According to him, the administration will earn it through facts, radical transparency and measurable results.

He said renewed political confidence should never be taken for granted, as the government and its supporters must keep engaging Nigerians with facts and show how ongoing reforms are improving security, livelihoods, and economic opportunity.

The vice president noted that Mr Tinubu’s bid for a renewed mandate must rest on the administration’s record and a clear account of how another term would advance Nigerians’ interests.

He restated that the North had nothing to be afraid of in Mr Tinubu’s second term and Nigeria’s leaders.

“The mandate belongs to the people. We must account for its use and explain how another term would advance their interests,” he said.

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin expressed confidence that the A4A structure in the northern region would help in telling the accurate story of Mr Tinubu’s transformational strides.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, said history was beckoning the North to act with wisdom and evidence, not sentiment, in its decision to support Mr Tinubu’s re-election.

The SGF said the North’s position and strength in driving Nigeria’s unity and progress must be leveraged in the 2027 presidential elections.

Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano, who spoke on behalf of all the governors of the North, said the northern region’s support for the president in the forthcoming elections would be based on its conviction to uphold fairness, equity, unity and the progress of the country.

(NAN)