A member of the Stakeholders Relation Directorate of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Nuhu Bunu, has urged President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to appoint Christians as Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chief of Staff.
In a statement to journalists on Sunday, the Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stated that Tinubu needs to clarify that the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling party was a strategy aimed at winning the election and not part of any plan to Islamise the country.
He warned the former Lagos State governor not to allow parochial politics or the selfish ambition of potential officeholders to drive the process of constituting the next Cabinet.
Bunu said: “Individual aspirations by potential office holders may only result in unmanageable contests for positions in the next cabinet.
“APC must avoid past pitfalls and develop a proactive strategy of producing a religiously balanced government post May 29, 2023, under the leadership of Asiwaju Tinubu.
“Asiwaju Tinubu, must not make the mistake of proceeding with the task of constituting a new Government based on business-as-usual strategy, which will be inconsiderate.
“The opportunity of constituting a new all inclusive government must be used strategically to reconcile the APC with Nigerians.
“Sacrifices must be made by every leader of the party to create the condition for an Asiwaju Tinubu led Federal Government to emerge with strong legitimacy and wider support base by Nigerians.
“There is a need to reflect religious considerations in the distribution of political offices.”
The APC chieftain noted that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must consciously avoid any mistake that could be used by political adversaries to suggest religious insensitivity to Nigerians.
He warned that the President-elect must take steps to manage the aspirations of individual leaders for positions in the next Federal Government.
Bunu said: “Some positions, for instance, must be deliberately balanced with religious considerations.
“Some specific recommendations may be necessary at this point. The offices of Chief of Staff to the President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) would have to be allocated and reserved for Christians.
“Given that the President and Vice President are both Muslims, no Muslim should aspire for any of these offices. Opportunists may argue that in the past, little consideration was given to religion.
“This kind of lop-sided reality must be corrected as a strategic approach to dousing religious tension in the country.
“With a Muslim President and a Muslim Vice President, it is only logical to appoint Christians as Chief of Staff (COS) and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) respectively, in other to pacify christians and create inclusiveness.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs to recognise that the Muslim-Muslim ticket he introduced that won the 2023 Presidential election, if not managed to produce the desired outcome of religious inclusivity could further widen the division among Nigerians, which should be avoided.
“A successfully well-managed Muslim-Muslim ticket would make a Christian-Christian ticket viable and possible in the nearest future.
“That is the only way to show Nigerians that the Islamisation agenda that has become a singsong for the opposition is only the hallucinatory proclamation of some individuals and groups.”
