Director of Information, for the office of the Vice President (VP), Olusola Abiola, says mischief-makers are twisting his principal’s plea for a Christian to be Senate president.
Information Nigeria reports that the VP, Kashim Shettima while canvassing votes for the 10th National Assembly, on Sunday announced that Muktar Betara and Yusuf Gadji, lawmakers aspiring for the position of speaker of the house of representatives, had agreed to drop their bids for Tajudeen Abbas, who the All Progressives Congress (APC) chose.
Shettima was quoted to have said the most incompetent southern Christian is better than the most puritanical northern Muslim for the senate presidency.
But, in a statement on Monday, Abiola however stated that it would be illogical for Shettima who is a Muslim to second-guess the competence of a fellow Muslim.
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“What Vice President Shettima advocated during the meeting was that considering Nigeria’s president and vice president are Muslims, it would not be ill-advised for the lawmakers to choose a non-Muslim contestant, even if against a more qualified Muslim option, in order to achieve balance,” he said.
Abiola added that “Vice President Shettima’s position reflects the stance of the APC, which has not only assigned the leadership of the house of representatives to the north-west but has also designated the position of the deputy senate president to be held by the same region.
“At the time of the vice president-elect’s remarks, approximately three contenders for the speakership race had withdrawn their candidacy to support the candidate from the north-west.
“This well-considered balancing strategy aimed to mitigate the potential for crisis within the country, particularly by those anticipating the domination of leadership from the same religious faith in all branches of government as a signal.”
