Only six out of the 19 northern state governors supported President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's presidential bid during the 2023 election, Vice President Kashim Shettima has said.

Shettima, who spoke on Wednesday at the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, during the turbaning of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate, said the political atmosphere surrounding the 2023 presidential contest was intense but those opposed to Tinubu could not stop him from pursuing his ambition.

He said several obstacles were placed on Tinubu's path in the last election, but he remained determined to press ahead.

The Vice President, who began listing the six, however stopped, saying he wants to avoid controversy.

He stated, "You know we have 19 states. Apart from Niger former governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, seated here, and Malam Abdurrahman AbdulRazaq (governor of Kwara State).

"But to avoid controversy, I will stop naming the names of the other governors. But the governors that were supporting President Tinubu in the North were not more than six who believed in him. But Tinubu refused to be deterred. He was able to cross the road."

Shettima said the experience should provide a lesson for politicians preparing for future contests, stressing that political disagreements should not become permanent divisions among those seeking elective offices.

He urged politicians in Kwara to reconcile after the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, regardless of who emerges.

He said political competition should not be treated as a battle in which former allies become permanent enemies, saying Tinubu demonstrated such an approach after the 2023 election by reaching out to governors who had not supported his presidential ambition.

"After the 2023 election, President Tinubu hugged and forgave all other northern governors that did not support him. That is a mark of a good leader," he said.

The Vice President also called on Nigerians to serve with humility and leave a positive legacy. He noted that political office is temporary and that those who occupy positions of authority would eventually return to ordinary life.

He said political power was ultimately ordained by God and urged politicians to recognise that occupying public office did not make one inherently superior to others.

"Power is given by God to the people He so wishes and not because they are better than other people," Shettima said.

He also defended Tinubu's handling of the country's economic difficulties, stressing the administration chose to confront the challenges it inherited rather than spend its time apportioning blame.

Shettima said the government inherited about $3.9 billion in its coffers and faced a difficult economic situation when it assumed office.

He said Tinubu refused to be discouraged and directed his economic team to proceed with its reform agenda, adding that the president's political approach was influenced by the style of former President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as a politician who would not allow himself to be arm-twisted during political negotiations.