The presidency has denied a press report that the State Security Services (SSS) have issued a tip to President Muhammad Buhari about the running mate of Tinubu Ballthe presidential candidate of the ruling party, APC.
Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Buhari, described the story as “untrue” and advised Nigerians to ignore it.
Although Shehu did not name the platform that published the story, on Friday, an online news platform, the Peoples Gazette, published an exclusive report that the SSS warned that a “Muslim-Muslim ticket will destabilize Nigeria.”
The newspaper said its report was based on a leaked memo and an interview with intelligence officials.
In his reaction, Shehu advised “well-intentioned Nigerians to ignore a ridiculously puerile report from an apparently pirate online newspaper that seeks to sow division and chaos over the election of Governor Kashim Shettima as the running mate of our party’s presidential candidate. , Asiwaju Bola Ahmed. Tinubu.
Tinubu announced Shettima as his running mate on Sunday.
Both Messrs. Tinubu and Shettima are Muslim, and many Nigerians, including the Christian Association of Nigeria, had warned against a presidential bid in which the candidate and running mate would be of the same religion.
However, Tinubu said that he chose Shettima not because of her religion but because of her competence.
I believe this is the man who can help me provide the best governance to all Nigerians, period, regardless of their religious affiliation or considerations of ethnicity or region,” Tinubu said shortly after announcing Shettima.
The former Lagos state governor said that while he is aware of religious concerns about his choice of running mate, he does not think religion should be the deciding factor in choosing a running mate.
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“Can I say this to all of you, especially those who will be disappointed in my selection based on religious considerations? I will not and cannot ignore the religious concerns and ethnic sensitivities of our people. Taking them into due account is an important part of good and capable governance.
“But religion, ethnicity and region cannot always fully determine our path. To move forward as a nation towards development and prosperity, we must free ourselves from old ties. We must recalibrate our political calculations so that competition and fairness matter more than reductive demographics,” Tinubu said.
“This is where politics ends and true leadership must begin.”