Middle Belt group tackles vice president-elect over alleged ‘manipulative tendencies’

The coalition of Middle Belt Youth Leaders have called out the Vice President-elect senator Kashim Shettima to honorably resign his position to pave the way for his replacement by a Christain Vice President.

The group spoke on Thursday against the backdrop that Senator Shettima was reported on 13th May, 2023 to have counseled the elected legislative members of the 10th Assembly that “the Senate president and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives cannot be of same faith because it would fuel Islamisation agenda narrative.

The vice president elect had explained further that, “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, and validate the negative narrative of the Islamization agenda of Nigeria”.

In his opinion, a situation where the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are Muslims, could “validate the negative narrative of the Islamisation agenda of Nigeria”.

“Shettima added that the leadership of the 10th Assembly must be all inclusive because the “stability of the nation is much more important than any other consideration”.

Addressing a Press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Youth Leader of the Middle Belt Forum, Comrade Nasiru Jagaba who spoke on Behalf of the Coalition said Shettima is only riddiculing Christianity as well as deceiving and or manipulating Nigerians, particularly the elected members of the 10th Assembly as they prepare for the elections of leaders of the National Assembly in a matter of weeks from now.

“This is a cunning way to attempt to hoodwink the elected lawmakers into accepting the zoning arrangement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the leadership of the 10th national assembly.

He said Shettima sounded in his counsel like a patriot and great democrat in that quote.

“However, it would have been better judged so if these words from Sen. Shatima came against the call for him to pick the Vice Presidential ticket along side a Muslim in person of the President Elect, Bola Ahmed Asiwaju Tinubu.”