‘We are not preparing for Olympics, but building on ideas’ – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has dismissed insinuations about President Bola Tinubu’s health, saying his principal is a man full of ideas.

President Tinubu had during the Democracy Day celebration last month missed his steps, an incident that elicited conversations about the former Lagos State governor’s health status to lead the country.

But at a town hall meeting by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council held at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja on Friday, Shettima faulted comments about Tinubu’s health status.

“We are not asking you not to question the eligibility of your president’s condition. But there is this mischievous vexation about the president’s health status,” Shettima said at the event, calling on Nigerians to support Tinubu’s administration.

“We are not preparing for the Olympics, but an institution that builds on the superiority of ideas. But I dare to put it to you. The hallmark of true leadership is not the ability to lift a bag of cement, but the capacity to come up with robust ideas to solve a nation’s problems. So, this is a man that we need to all rally around, we need to support”, Shettima said.

Nigeria’s inflation has reached new highs, clocking 33.69 per cent in May 2024. But Shettima, who acknowledged the difficult economic conditions, says it is not peculiar to the country.

He, however, believes in the ability of the Tinubu government to reverse the trend.

He said, “Yes, our economy is going through turbulence but is it confined to Nigeria alone? Let’s take a broadband picture. Is any economy immune from the challenges of the times? So, I urge you to be fair to this poor man.”

“We have never had it so good in terms of leadership. The President means well for the nation and most importantly, imbued with the skill set to drive change and progress in this country,” Shettima said.

“I can tell you with all sense of confidence that the President we have now is a man of ideas who is robustly imbued with the capacity. Leadership is about competence.”