All Progress Congress, APC's presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to nominate a  Muslim as his vice-presidential candidate for 2023 presidential election has been described as  a tailored recipe for renewed sectarian crises that could destabilise Nigeria.

The Directorate of State Security, DSS came to this conclusion  in   a processed intelligence sent to  President Muhammadu Buhari by  and shared with Peoples Gazette by national security officials this week. 


“The SSS produced the report and handed a copy to National Security Adviser,  Babagana Monguno,  NSA,” an intelligence officer told The Gazette. “The NSA looked at the report and added it for security briefing to the president.’’


“Simply put, our understanding is that the alliance will destabilise Nigeria and embolden attacks on Christian citizens from their fellow Muslim citizens,” the official said. “The distrust Christians are likely to harbour against a presidency occupied by two Muslims won’t make our work easy at national security level.”


“People can say whatever they like about Mr President, but as a senior intelligence administrator I can guarantee you he was not involved in Tinubu’s decision at all,” the official said in a remarkable moment of candour. 


Another official said the report was commissioned after Mr Tinubu became the standard-bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress on June 8 and started embracing the idea of a Muslim-Muslim ticket as the most potent strategy to be elected as president in an ethnically and religiously polarised country like Nigeria. 


“Strong intelligence led us to believe that he was passionate about the idea of a Muslim running mate,” the second official, an assistant director at the SSS, said. “By the time our analysts reassessed the state of the country right now and what would likely come out of a Muslim president and vice-president, everything tilted towards negative and very dangerous times ahead.” 


A spokesman for the SSS declined requests to comment on the memo, and both the State House and Mr Tinubu’s campaign headquarters did not respond to requests for comment.


The second official also dismissed questions about whether or not the SSS was injecting itself into uncharted political waters which could warrant serious consequences should Mr Tinubu go on to be elected next February, saying it was after Mr Tinubu had already taken the decision that he informed the president. 

“We have it in our files that Tinubu went to the president to ask him about who to pick but the president was very reluctant to contribute and Tinubu noticed this before walking away,” the official added. “We have a role to play towards safeguarding national security and our report was not intended as a political intervention.”