From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Vice President, Kashim Shettima has called on leaders in the North West Region of the country to unite and support the efforts of the Bola Tinubu administration in addressing insecurity and other challenges confronting the people.
According to a statement by Director of Information, Office of the Vice President, Olusola Abiola, he made the call when he paid Sallah homage to the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Saád Abubakar II in his palace on Friday.
According to Shettima, “President Tinubu is aware of the challenges facing our people – the insecurity that has pervaded the North-West region and he is taking far reaching measures to address the situation.
“I urge our political leaders to unite in order to confront the common challenges of insecurity, poverty and underdevelopment in the region,” he said.
The Vice President while conveying President Tinubu’s felicitations, stressed the importance of peace and unity, noting that, “there can never be peace without development, there can never be development without peace.”
Shettima added that the Tinubu administration acknowledges the role of the traditional institution, and remains committed to giving it the necessary support to contribute to the nation’s progress.
On his part, the Sultan of Sokoto thanked the Vice President for the Sallah homage and prayed God to grant him wisdom and strength to discharge tasks assigned to him as the nation’s number two citizen.
He commended the Federal Government for the bold steps taken so far to address challenges confronting the nation, noting that “it is better to take certain decisions now, no matter the hardship,” emphasising that the gains of the future was more important.
He pledged the support of the Sultanate for the Federal Government’s policies and programmes, assuring that “we will support you 100 per cent all of the time and we give you our word on this. We will do whatever it takes to maintain peace and stability in our country Nigeria.”
In another development, the Vice President tasked the Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu on providing purposeful leadership while admonishing him to maintain cordial relationship with leaders across the state.
Speaking earlier at a brief reception for the VP at the Government House, the governor expressed gratitude for the visit, describing the gesture by the Vice President as a show of “deep love for Sokoto State and its people”.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State and Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Idris Gobir were among the many dignitaries at the event.