By SALISU SANI-IDRIS

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu?s administration will never accommodate the marginalisation of any group.

Shettima said this when he received a delegation of the elders, members and leaders of the ACF on a courtesy visit to the Presidential villa, in Abuja on Wednesday.

He explained that the policies of the Tinubu?s administration were designed to create opportunities for all and lift every community through inclusion, education, and enterprise.

?This government is yours. Your interests shall always find representation here, for I am one of you.

?And where there is a shortcoming, I assure you that you have direct access to me.

?We exist to serve you, to represent you, and to uphold the values that make the North an equal stakeholder in Nigeria?s identity.

?What we do as a government is to ensure that every group, every community, every faith, and every voice finds its place in the national conversation,? Shettima said.

The vice-president stated that there was no better time than now for the leaders of the North to stand together as one.

Shettima said: ?We have proven, time and again, that our diversity is our strength, that our differences in tribe, faith, and geography are the very bricks that make this house of destiny we live in.

?This is why we must continue to resist all attempts to divide us or stir mischief among us. Our future depends on unity, and unity must remain our creed.?

He stated that the trajectory of the North, however, has been a sobering one, saying, ?we began as a region defined by stability, vision, and a deep commitment to building bridges across ethnic, religious, and geographic divides.?

Shettima added: ?But what we have inherited today is a geography scarred by insecurity, mistrust, and economic decline. We cannot afford to allow this chaos to fester.

?We owe our people not only the burden of ending the cycle of killings and destruction that have crippled our communities, but also the duty of ensuring justice for victims of violence and deprivation.

?The architects of modern conflict often describe what they call the greed and grievance theory.

?It is a recognition that while some agitations arise from genuine grievances seeking justice and fairness, others are fuelled by greed ? by the quest to exploit disorder for selfish gain.

?Our task, therefore, is to distinguish between the two, to embrace the legitimate calls for equity and inclusion, and to isolate the forces that seek to profit from chaos. This is what we have been doing.?

Shettima said that over the past year, Tinubu?s administration took deliberate steps to reposition the fortunes of the North.

He said the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu prioritises education, agriculture, industrialisation, and security as the pillars of northern revival.

The vice-president said, ?We recognise that nostalgia is not public policy and that the future demands innovation, not sentiment.

?We are strengthening the foundations of education through reforms that empower local governments and promote fiscal autonomy at the grassroots.

?Through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), millions of northern students now have access to tertiary education without the financial barriers that once held them back.

?We are expanding vocational and technical training centres to prepare our youth for roles in agriculture, manufacturing, and technology.?

Shettima said that the government was moving beyond subsistence farming to large-scale commercial ventures that transform nation?s vast arable land into the nation?s food and industrial backbone.

?We are building agro-processing industries to create jobs and value chains, investing in microfinance systems to support smallholder farmers and Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

?And we are establishing industrial zones in key states such as Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto to attract textile, leather, and food-processing industries.

?We have also brought sanity to the mining sector by creating a specialised policing framework to secure mining sites and curb the conflicts caused by illegal operators.

?In solid minerals and renewable energy, we are unlocking the immense potential of the North, reviving the steel sector, exploring tin, columbite, and gold deposits, and investing in solar energy projects to power industries and communities across the region,? Shettima remarked.

On security, the vice-president said the administration made national security its topmost priority through coordinated security operations.

Shettima also said the government had neutralised notorious bandit leaders and restored relative stability to once-besieged communities.

?This is the foundation upon which we intend to rebuild the North ? through peace, through justice, and through economic empowerment,? he said.

Shettima, however, appealed to the ACF to continue to stand as they have always done as the voice of reason, the ambassadors of truth, and, very importantly, as our allies in this collective pact to redefine the North.

He averred, ?On behalf of His Excellency, President Tinubu, and the entire administration, I welcome you warmly.

?Let this visit renew our shared commitment to rebuilding the North, to uniting our people, and to restoring the dignity of our region as a symbol of progress, tolerance, and peace.?

Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, ACF, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, said ACF was very proud with the support that Shettima and all the appointees of Tinubu?s administration from the North were giving to the current government.

He said: ?As Northerners, the vice-president is our number one ambassador, his image is carrying our spirit, our image, our aspiration and we have noticed that he has brought it into this administration.

?And he has supported the President 100 per cent. And also, all the appointees of this government from the North are supporting the administration. We are very proud of them.

?And we shall continue to support them. But we shall also continue to point out to them areas that we think we can make improvement for the benefits of all Nigerians.?

Other members of the delegation were; the ACF Vice Chairman, Sen. Ibrahim Ida; Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, and BoT Vice Chairman, Amb. Ibrahim Mai-Sule.

Also present were Alhaji Nasiru Danu; Ibrahim Bamalli; former I-G, Mohammed Abubakar; Amb. Baba Jidda; former SGF, Mahmud Yayale-Ahmed and retired Lt.-Gen. Abdurahman Danbazau, among others. (NAN)

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