Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s spokesperson described the story as “false” and advised Nigerians to ignore it.
The presidency has denied a news report that the State Security Services (SSS) has issued an advisory to President Muhammad Buhari on the running mate of Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling party, APC.
Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s spokesperson described the story as “false” and advised Nigerians to ignore it.
Although Mr Shehu did not name the platform that published the story, on Friday, an online news platform, Peoples Gazette, published an exclusive report that the SSS warned that a “Muslim-Muslim ticket will destabilise Nigeria.”
The paper said its report was based on a leaked memo and interview with intelligence officers.
In his reaction, Mr Shehu advised “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.”
Mr Tinubu announced Mr Shettima as his running mate on Sunday.
Both Messrs Tinubu and Shettima are Muslims, and many Nigerians including the Christian Association of Nigeria had cautioned against a presidential ticket where the candidate and the running mate would be of the same religion.
However, Mr Tinubu said he picked Mr Shettima not based on his religion but based on his competence.
I believe this is the man who can help me bring the best governance to all Nigerians, period, of their religious affiliation or considerations of ethnicity or region,” Mr Tinubu said shortly after announcing Mr Shettima.
The former Lagos state governor said although he is aware of the religious concerns about his choice of running mate, he does not believe that religion should be the deciding factor in choosing a running mate.
“May I say this to all of you, especially to 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 consideration is an important part of good and able governance.
“But religion, ethnicity, and region cannot always and fully determine our path. To forge ahead as a nation toward development and prosperity, we must break free of old binds. We must recalibrate our political calculations to where competence and fairness matter more than reductive demographics,” Mr Tinubu said.
“Here is where politics ends, and true leadership must begin.”
