THE Presidency has debunked reports that there was an advisory from the Department of State Services (DSS) to President Muhammadu Buhari warning of imminent crises in the country should the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) field a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential elections.
Some of the reports published on Friday claimed that the DSS, in the advisory, had raised the alarm on the negative security implication of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
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Reacting, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu described the reports as false.
“We wish to advise well-meaning Nigerians to ignore a laughably puerile report by an apparently pirate online newspaper seeking to sow division and chaos on the choice of Governor Kashim Shettima as the Running Mate of our Party’s Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“This so-called newspaper is like a deadly virus. Stay safe by keeping away from its toxic reports.”
Angry reactions have continued to trail Tinubu’s choice of former Borno State governor Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and many Nigerians have rejected a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
On Tuesday, some Christian political leaders within the APC also expressed their rejection of Tinubu’s running mate.
In a communique signed by Doknan Sheni, the Christian leaders, under the aegis of Christians of Northern Extraction in the All Progressive Congress, said they could not return to their various constituencies to campaign for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
They noted that notable Imams in the North had “forewarned the party and the candidate from travelling the treacherous route” of the same faith ticket.
Nigeria, they noted, is a multi-religious and a constitutional democracy and not a theocracy with religion as a major national fault line which cannot be manipulated without dire political consequences on the peaceful co-existence as a people.
They also said the current Nigerian environment is different from what was obtainable in 1993 when Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe, both Muslims, contested as president and vice-president.
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