The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has debunked recent reports making rounds that he had gotten some advice against the Bola Tinubu-Kashim Shettima ticket from the DSS.
The former Lagos governor had openly announced the ex-Borno governor and Senator as his running mate after visiting President Buhari in Daura, Katsina state.
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On Friday, a media organisation, the Peoples Gazette had reported that the Department of State Service (DSS) warned about the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). But the President through spokesman Garba Shehu debunked the information in a statement.
The media aide advised 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”.
It was reported that senior security agents fear that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket may lead to renewed sectarian crisis that could destabilise Nigeria.
The DSS document was said to have been forwarded to the President through the National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno. It cautioned Tinubu to consider the security implications of his selection before making it public.
“Our understanding is that the alliance will destabilise Nigeria and embolden attacks on Christian citizens from their fellow Muslim citizens.
“The distrust Christians are likely to harbour against a presidency occupied by two Muslims won’t make our work easy at national security level”, an intelligence operative was quoted saying.
The official added that Buhari was not involved in the talks that led to Tinubu’s announcement of Shettima.
The intelligence report was reportedly commissioned after Tinubu commenced consultations on a Muslim running mate after he emerged as the APC presidential flagbearer early June.