Ex Gov. Shettima Apologises To Osinbajo For Calling Him ‘Ice Cream Seller’ On TV

Former governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima, has backtracked and apologized for his ‘ice cream seller’ comments about Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

In an interview on Friday, Shettima had described Osinbajo as a nice person but noted that such an attitude will not make him a good president.

He said “nice men should be selling popcorn, and ice cream” while adding that Bola Tinubu, former Lagos governor, will make a better president.

The utterance has stirred negative reactions from political figures within and outside the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In response, Shettima, in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Sunday, said his remarks were not meant as “ridicule but, rather, to stir up interest in the contrasting virtues of the cast of aspirants putting up a fight against my preferred aspirant”.

He added that his words were interpreted “literally and overblown”.

“When I appeared on Channels TV last Thursday amidst the tension rippling through our political arena, it was to underline the promise of Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid held for those yet to establish the certainty of the hurdle ahead of the APC presidential primary,” he wrote.

“I never set out to denigrate the personality of any aspirant and not that of my dear friends and allies. None of them is an opponent, so their aspiration isn’t a threat to us.

“They appear so in the sprint to become the party’s presidential flag-bearer in the 2023 elections, but they are our allies in the marathon.

“My assessments of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and Ahmad Lawan, were well-intentioned