VICE presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kashim Shettima, has alleged that Northerners were reluctant to support him because of his Kanuri ethnic heritage.
Speaking during a visit to the Emir of Daura in Katsina, the former Borno State governor said: “People are saying that I’m not Hausa. We have had people from the North who are not Hausa and they benefited the North. Umar Musa Yar’adua, Buhari and others are examples.
“I’m not Hausa, but I am Fulani-blood-related. I’m a Kanuri also, and I have benefited the North more than the other,” the APC vice presidential candidate added.
Alhaji Shettima further stated that Northerners in states with predominantly Hausa and Fulani people were refusing to back him.
Speaking in Hausa and in reference to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Shettima said, “Ours is ours, but our man who does not benefit us cannot be considered as our own.”
He, therefore, challenged the audience to show him what Mr. Abubakar did for the region during his eight years as vice president that warrants their vote.
Mr. Shettima also challenged the audience to mention eight successful people whom Mr. Abubakar had mentored throughout his political career.