Akpabio: Senate President should be Christian in the interest of Nigeria’s unity – Shettima

The vice president-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, said the choice of Godswill Akpabio for the seat of Senate President in the 10th National Assembly was endorsed by APC leadership and the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stabilize the polity. Shettima spoke while adressing senators-elect, who are members of the Stability Group rooting for the emergence of […]

The vice president-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, said the choice of Godswill Akpabio for the seat of Senate President in the 10th National Assembly was endorsed by APC leadership and the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stabilize the polity.

Shettima spoke while adressing senators-elect, who are members of the Stability Group rooting for the emergence of Akpabio and Barau as Senate President and Deputy respectively, at his campaign office in Abuja.

He said, “The President-elect and the vice-president elect are both Muslims. It is in the interest of the stability and unity of this country that the next position be given to the Christian faith, if not, it would further validate the alleged islamisation agenda of the APC-led administration. It would be perceived as a gratuitous insult on our Christian brothers and sisters who stuck out their necks to support us.

“That was why I was quite pleased with the choice of the party leadership that my uncommon brother and leader in the person of Senator Godswill Akpabio should be the number three citizen of this country. The stability of this nation is much more important than whatever political considerations we may think of. We need to have a stabled and united nation before we can talk about politics and positions. This is what our leader could do to unite this country in the current circumstances.”

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Shettima said Akpabio has the exposure, competence and experience to occupy the office of the Senate President in the 10th Senate, ditto Senator Barau, his deputy.

“Apart from the need for religious balancing, competence and experience also came into play in our choices,” he said.

Shettima pledged to reach out to APC senators-elect who are yet to come on board with the choices of the party.