Kashim Shettima, the “vice president-elect,” has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) wants to prevent a scenario where all of the top officials of the upcoming administration would share the same religious beliefs.

Recall that the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress had proposed Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, as the Senate’s president and Abbas Tajudeen, a ranking member, as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The nominations in the 10th National Assembly is causing dispute within the party, as many members of the ruling party contesting for the role have faulted and rejected the party’s position on the upcoming national assembly leadership

During a meeting with some of the House of Representatives’ incoming members on Friday, Senator Shettima, the vice president-elect, pleaded with the incoming representatives to accept the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) zoning plan for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.

He declared: “The leadership of the upcoming national assembly must be inclusive because the country’s stability is far more crucial than any other factor.

“What we are trying to avoid is a situation whereby the number one citizen, the number two citizen, the number three citizen, the number four 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.

“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 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.

“We are talking about inclusivity, we are talking about togetherness because nation-building is a continuous work in progress and politics is about perception, it is about optics. I am quite glad that Benjamin Kalu will emerge as the deputy speaker. The hope for the black man rests with the people of this country,” the vice-president-elect said.