By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Presidency on Sunday, 11 June, 2023 has given reasons that informed its decision to back a Christian as a Senate President.
It explained that Nigeria could not afford to have a Muslim as a Senate President at this time having produced Muslims as President and the Vice-President.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who said these at a dinner with lawmakers across party lines in Abuja on Saturday night, 10 June, 2023, noted that the party came up with the consensus ticket of Senator GodsWill Akpabio as Senate President and Jibrin Barau as Deputy in the interest of the stability of the country.
Shettima said this as two aspirants for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aliyu Betara and Yusuf Gagdi, were reported to have stepped down for the aspirant backed by the party, Tajudeen Abbas.
Explaining the position of President Bola Tinubu, the Vice-President said Nigeria could not afford to have a Muslim as a Senate President since both the President and VP are Muslims, stressing that the President of the Senate should be a Christian.
Recall that there was criticism over the same faith presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress which featured Tinubu and Shettima in the run-up to the February 25 presidential poll.
Having won the election, parliamentarians and other stakeholders had been clamouring for the balance of power and inclusivity, insisting that a Christian must be included in the nation’s top power hierarchy.
“This is a young nation where every community will like to have fair representation on the dinner table of their kinsmen.
“Politics is about perception, politics is about optics. I want to appeal to you, I want to appeal to your conscience. There is stability and inclusivity and togetherness in this nation that supersedes the depth of our pockets, stability of our pockets.
“Under the current dispensation, the worst, the most incompetent southern Christian is better than the most puritanical northern Muslim for the presidency of the Senate. We are talking about the sustainability of the nation; the nation is at a crossroads,” Shettima said.
The Vice President submitted that some parts of the country felt excluded from the previous administration as the president, senate president, speaker and others were of the Muslim faith, adding it would be wrong to have a repeat of such a situation in the current government.
He said, “Number one, two, three, four, and five all from the same faith for God’s sake, we can’t do that. I am ready to kneel and beg my colleagues in the Senate for the sake of the nation. This is for the survival of this nation. I am even going to talk to a senator tonight just for the sake of this nation.”
The consensus candidate of the party, Senator Akpabio noted that the lawmakers were willing to work for the stability of the country.
“Vice President, sir, we have committed ourselves to your administration alongside President Bola Tinubu to ensure the stability of Nigeria,” Akpabio said.
