President Muhammadu Buhari has described a fake news report that he got advice from the Department of State Services (DSS) against the Bola Tinubu-Kashim Shettima ticket.
Recall that the former Lagos governor had last Sunday announced the ex-Borno governor as his running mate after visiting Buhari in Daura, Katsina state, drawing widespread criticism from concerned Nigerians and some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
An online news platform (not Naijaloaded) had claimed that the DSS warned against the fielding of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The report alleged that a Muslim-Muslim ticket might lead to a renewed sectarian crisis that could destabilize Nigeria.
The DSS document was said to have been forwarded to Buhari through the Office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno.
The publication quoted an intelligence operative saying, “Our understanding is that the alliance will destabilize Nigeria and embolden attacks on Christian citizens from their fellow Muslim citizens.
“The distrust Christians are likely to harbor against a presidency occupied by two Muslims won’t make our work easy at the national security level.”
Reacting in a statement on Friday, Buhari, through his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, denied receiving such a report.
He said:
“We wish to advise 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.
“This so-called newspaper is like a deadly virus. Stay safe by keeping away from its toxic reports.”