Politics: Shettima Praises Soludo, Says Tinubu Benefits From Anambra Gov’s Counsel
He said that despite being in APGA, Soludo’s counsel to the APC government of Tinubu reflects the unity needed for nation-building.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has hailed the contributions of Governor Chukwuma Soludo to national development, saying the current administration is a beneficiary of the Anambra leader’s insights into issues affecting Nigeria.
Shettima spoke on Tuesday in Awka during the swearing-in of Governor Soludo and his deputy, Onyeka Ibezim, for a second term.
“The policies of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have benefited from the candor, specialist insights, and patriotic counsel of this distinguished economist—this restless thinker, this public intellectual of uncommon range, both in open forums and in private conversation,” the vice president said at the event.
“That is how it should be. That is what it means to be in the business of nation-building. It means placing the welfare of the Federation above the vanity of partisan fences. It means understanding that Nigeria is too precious a vessel to be abandoned to the storm simply because the rowers wear different colours”.
READ ALSO: Soludo Sworn In For Second Term
Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, asked Soludo, who is of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to see the second term as a chance to work for the people, hailing the governor for his giant strides in four years.
According to him, by getting a second term, the people of Anambra expect Soludo to ramp up efforts to develop the South-East state.
“That is why this ceremony matters. It is not only about continuity; it is about responsibility. It is about the solemn truth that the higher the trust, the heavier the burden,” Shettima, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), told the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The applause will fade, the drums will quieten, and the colorful banners will be folded away. But what will remain is the ancient obligation of leadership: to protect the weak, to enlarge opportunity, to defend peace, to dignify labour, and to leave behind a society kinder, safer, and more just than the one we met.”
Shettima told the gathering of the Federal Government’s resolve to partner with states for the “improvement of human life”.
“I have no doubt that this ‘second coming’ is not a return to reputation, but a return to consolidation—not a call to begin again, but an invitation to build higher on foundations already tested,” he said.
Tuesday’s event was attended by high-profile personalities in the country. They included ex-presidents Goodluck Jonathan, Olusegun Obasanjo, and others.
