Shettima Says Tinubu Rejected Claims He Planned to ‘Take Over Power’

Vice President Kashim Shettima says some individuals from Borno State allegedly told President Bola Tinubu in 2023 that traditional outfits he gifted the president during the election campaign were spiritually dangerous and part of a plot to take over power.

Mr. Shettima disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while representing the president at the unveiling of “My Life of Duty and Allegiance,” the autobiography of former Head of State Yakubu Gowon.

According to the vice president, the visitors urged Mr. Tinubu to stop wearing the native Borno-style clothes and caps, claiming they were intended to manipulate him politically and eventually endanger his life.

“Three months into our swearing in, some people told Tinubu I was planning to kill him to take over power,” Mr. Shettima said. “The president called me and said, ‘Sit down! Your people came to me and said stop wearing those Shettima clothes.’”

Mr. Shettima said he arranged the traditional outfits for Mr. Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign as the then-candidate toured northern states seeking political support.

He said the president dismissed the allegations as baseless and continued wearing the attire publicly for several days to demonstrate his rejection of the claims.

According to the vice president, Mr. Tinubu told him the accusations “did not add up” because neither of them occupied their current offices when the garments were first presented.

Mr. Shettima said the episode reflected growing distrust in Nigeria’s political environment and contrasted it with what he described as stronger bonds among earlier generations of leaders.

He cited remarks by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who recalled how families in Sokoto freely sent bowls of fura to Mr. Gowon during his years as head of state.

“Suspicion smears our relationships, and it ought not to be. We are essentially one people tied to a common destiny,” Mr. Shettima said.

The vice president also praised Mr. Gowon for promoting national unity after the civil war through initiatives such as the National Youth Service Corps and the formation of the Economic Community of West African States.

He urged Nigerians to reject ethnic and religious divisions and called for peace in Plateau State.

Quoting American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Shettima said: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”