2027: Bill Gates Joins Campaign, Supports Shettima

2027: Bill Gates Joins Campaign, Supports Shettima

By:Michael Mike

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima has received a highly anticipated support to continue as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate in the 2027 presidential election from chairman of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates.

The unusual support according to sources knowledgeable about the matter is a lifeline for the embattled vice president.

Shettima, whose fate as Tinubu’s running mate has been dangling in the balance received the boost after a delegation from Gates Foundation led by the president, Global Growth and Opportunity (GGO), Hari Menon visited Shettima at the Villa on Wednesday.

According to a post on the vice president’s verified Facebook page, the delegation which also included members of the foundation in Nigeria briefed the VP on its activities in Nigeria .

” Yesterday, I received in audience a delegation of the Gates Foundation, led by the President of the Foundation’s Global Growth and Opportunity (GGO) division, Mr. Hari Menon, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

” In my interaction with the delegation, I applauded the Gates Foundation for sustaining investments and humanitarian aid in Nigeria. Indeed, the Foundation remains the nation’s strategic partner in the drive to change the Nigerian narrative, ” Shettima said.

However, the meeting between the vice president and Bill Gates team had another purpose, to pass a vote of confidence on the VP in order to convince President Tinubu to retain him s running mate.

” There have been calls for the president to drop Shettima because of his political baggage and alleged links to the insurgency in the Northeast. Most of the pressure is coming from the United States that currently have soldiers on the ground in nigeria, providing support for the Nigerian military.

” What better way to shore up support than to bring the biggest philanthropist to Nigeria in order to prove that he still hs some international connections, ” the source said.

In his visit to Nigeria, Menon who is of Indian heritage also visited the Indian High Commission to Nigeria, meeting with the ambassador, Abhishek Singh.

The Gates Foundation has been active in Nigeria since 2000 and it celebrated its 25th years in the country last year. Activities of the foundation has also come under scrutiny for many years especially it’s support for population control, Genetically Modified Organisms in agriculture and questionable polio immunisation.

2027: Bill Gates Joins Campaign, Supports Shettima