I helped deliver Tinubu’s victory, but was forgotten — Shittu

Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has opened up on his exclusion from President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign council, saying his biggest disappointment is not his omission but the abandonment of those who worked tirelessly for the President’s 2023 victory.

Shittu, who served as the Director-General of the Asiwaju Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation during the 2023 election, said he had no regret over not being included in the newly unveiled 223-member campaign council.

The former minister, however, said many campaign coordinators and supporters who invested their resources in securing Tinubu’s victory had been left without recognition.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, Shittu said his commitment to Tinubu’s presidential ambition was never based on expectations of appointments or personal benefits.

“I have played my own part though, and I have no regret for being left out of the current APC Presidential Campaign Council,” he said.

“Besides, one cannot really call being part of the council an achievement. It is what the Almighty God prompted me to do that I have done.”

Shittu recalled that his organisation mobilised 1,141 support groups and toured several states during the 2023 campaign, including Kano, Rivers, Adamawa, Borno and Niger.

He said the campaign structure also carried out advocacy across more than 50 radio and television stations nationwide.

However, the former minister revealed that despite his role in the campaign, he has not had a private meeting with Tinubu since the President assumed office in 2023.

“But do you know that from that time till now, as we speak, I have never had the privilege to meet President Tinubu one-on-one in the past three years?” Shittu said.

He said his expectation was not necessarily a political appointment but an opportunity to contribute his experience to government.

“In truth, I had actually expected to get an active role where I could deploy my brain and experience. It didn’t happen,” he added.

Shittu said his major concern was the fate of campaign workers who supported Tinubu during the election but later felt abandoned.

He disclosed that he had written to the President three times regarding some of the campaign foot soldiers, but many were yet to receive appointments or recognition.

“That indeed put me into a difficult position, especially the thought of inviting them back for another campaign. They will certainly ask what gains or dividends they achieved from the previous one they did in 2023,” he said.

The former minister also dismissed claims that he borrowed money to finance Tinubu’s 2023 campaign, saying the activities were funded through personal resources and donations.

Shittu’s comments come days after the APC unveiled its 2027 presidential campaign council, with President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima listed as chairman and vice chairman respectively.