ABUJA – The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, on Wednesday, revealed his willingness to be President Bola Tinubu’s running mate in the 2027 general elections.
Senator Barau said this while briefing journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja.
The Deputy Senate Presi-dent, while explaining several assistance he has enjoyed from the president, said he is 100 per-cent loyal to Tinubu and would readily do whatever the presi-dent asks him to do.
Senator Barau’s remarks followed a recent call by a group from the north urging President Bola Tinubu to drop Vice Pres-ident Kashim Shettima for the Deputy Senate President in 2027.
He pointed out that Tinubu has since the inception of the ad-ministration been trying hard to change the trajectory of the nation, insisting that the govern-ment inherited enormous chal-lenges it is trying to surmount.
“…Mr. President, since incep-tion of this administration, has been trying so hard, so hard, to change the trajectory of what-ever you do in this country in a way that you will have prosper-ity in our nation.
“We all know the problems that he inherited. And we’ve been working with him day and night, because he’s our father. He’s the father of the nation,” Barau said.
The Deputy Senate Presi-dent said, “We are very close in terms. He’s someone that is open-minded. We work with him very well.
“We understand what he’s doing. And I feel that at this time, there’s no point in us talking about all these issues. What he’s doing is a work in progress.
“I believe that the best thing to do is meet up. We are now two years, and we have another two years to go. I believe that what we need to do is to continue to cooperate with Mr. President, continue to support him.
“And not only the legislature, the entire people of this country should support Mr. President. He has the intention, the polit-ical will, to turn this country to a land of prosperity. We know.
“He doesn’t sleep. He always thinks about this country. And we feel that what we need to do for him and for this country is to support him.”
He, however, urged for sup-port to the administration, pointing out that it was prema-ture for any group to talk about who will be the president’s running mate in 2027, even as he said, “And that’s why I told those groups I don’t know them. Frankly speaking, I don’t know them.
“And I thank them for believ-ing in me. I thank them so much. But I told them, look, instead of wasting our energy on things that are not relevant now, we support the president.
“When the time comes, we’ll play politics. But this time is a time of governance. This is the issue. If I start telling him what he did to me, he will be surprised.
“He did so many things to me. So whatever he asks me to do, when the time comes, I’m a loyal person to him, I will do it. Whatever he tells me to do, I will do it.
“Whatever the president. Let me tell you, I’m very loyal to him. You see, Mr. President is a very kind-hearted person.
“When we had our problem in Kano, he was the one who resolved the issues for us. And made it possible for me to be giv-en the ticket to come to the Sen-ate. He stood by me to become Deputy Senate President.
“So if today, if at a time, if the time comes, and he said, ah, I want you to work with me, well, I would say, thank you, sir. I would say, thank you, sir. So whatever he asks me to do, I will do.
“I’m loyal to him, 100%. Mr. President is our father, the father of the nation. So no mistake, don’t make a mistake about it.
“So for now, we stand by him, we are working with him, we want him to succeed. When he succeeds, we all succeed. Our faiths are tied together.
“Because we come from the same family. Even before then, I come from a progressive fold, where he comes from. We are all progressives.”