Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima says having Muslims as president, vice president, senate president and speaker is not good for the country’s stability as it will validate the negative narrative of Islamisation agenda.

“What we are trying to avoid is a situation whereby the number one citizen, number two citizen, the number three citizen, and the number four citizen are all of the same faith. That will lend credence, validate the negative narrative of Islamization of Nigeria,” Mr Shettima said Friday in a meeting with elected House of Representatives members.

“This is why my principal, a fair-minded leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is more inclined towards having the number three citizen from the South/south or the south-east. Even in the current circumstance that we find ourselves in, the stability of the nation is much more important than any other consideration. All other considerations have to be relegated to the background because we are talking about the stability of the nation,” he added.

Mr Shettima’s statement comes as the push for who becomes senate president and speaker of the 10th National Assembly continues with elected members scrambling for the positions.

Mr Shettima and his principal, Mr Tinubu, both Muslims, emerged winners of the February 25th presidential election, despite criticisms against same faith ticket.

Their emergence disrupted long-time political arrangement that has seen Muslims and Christians share leadership positions in the country.

In July 2022, before the presidential election, Peoples Gazette exclusively reported that the State Security Service in a secret memo to President Muhammadu Buhari warned that Mr Tinubu’s choice of vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential election would trigger a sectarian crisis that could destabilise Nigeria.