President Buhari reacts to alleged report of ‘DSS against Tinubu-Shettima ticket.
President Muhammadu Buhari has denied receiving advice against the ticket of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
After meeting Buhari in Daura, Katsina state, the former Lagos governor named the ex-Borno governor and Senator as his running mate.
Peoples Gazette reported on Friday that the Department of State Service (DSS) had issued a warning about the All Progressives Congress’ Muslim-Muslim ticket (APC).
However, the President, via spokesman Garba Shehu, denied 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”.
According to reports, senior security officials are concerned that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket will spark a new sectarian crisis, potentially destabilizing Nigeria.
The DSS document was said to have been forwarded to the President by 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 intelligence report was reportedly commissioned after Tinubu began looking for a Muslim running mate after becoming the APC presidential flagbearer in early June.
