Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a group, 19 Northern States Movement For Kashim Shettima has pledged to deliver 20 million votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential team of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Sen. Kashim Shettima.
This is just as Christian clerics from the 19 northern states converged on Kaduna to deliver a letter to Sen. Shettima on their expectations if he emerges winner, while, assuring the APC team of their support.
The director general, 19 Northern States Movement For Kashim Shettima, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, who lauded the huge clergy turnout while responding to their address in Kaduna Thursday, said they initially pledged to deliver 16 million votes for APC in the presidential elections next year, but with the overwhelming support from the Christian clerics, they are going to deliver nothing less than 20 million votes.
“I am excited about the love Christians have for Tinubu/Shettima ticket. We promised that we were going to deliver 16m votes across 19 Northern states, but with the support of Christians from 19 Northern states, because of their key roles, we are now going to give Tinubu 20 million votes across 19 Northern states. I’m going to deliver the letter presented to me by the cleric from the 19 Northern states to Senator Kashim Shettima, and I can assure you that you would get positive feedback.”
The clerics, who are mainly youth, were of the opinion that the APC joint ticket of Tinubu/Shettima will reset Nigeria for progress and unity. Their spokesman, Bishop Monday Yaknat, said the church is not against APC and is not fighting APC.
“As ministers of the gospel, we are fathers, we belong to everybody. If APC comes to us, we pray with them, if any other party comes to us, we pray with them. We will present a letter to Shettima and assure him that we will stand behind him, we will support him and if God gives him victory, he should remember that.”
Bishop Yaknat, who is the executive director of Hope For Handicap Persons Foundation, expressed appreciation to those that attended.