Different viewpoints have been expressed by various groups and individuals ever since Tinubu named Shettima as his running mate in 2016. Some have suggested that the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be a plot to Islamize Nigeria.
However, the new Vice President allayed such concerns by stating that there was no plan to Islamize Africa's most populous country in a speech given at an event marking Tinubu's inauguration on May 29 in Abuja.
He identified his principal as a muslim who is married to a Christian at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
"I was a child of necessity, there is no Islamisation agenda. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Muslim who is married to a Christian, not only a Christian but a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
“Someone who has not Islamised his family, people are alluding that he has the intention to Islamise the nation,†he added.
The newly elected vice president disclosed that he specifically chose an Igbo man of Catholic faith to serve as his chief security officer.
He also chose a Northerner to be his Aide De Camp (ADC), citing inclusion and cohesion as the reasons for his choice.
"Politics is about perception. As we begin the formation of a new administration, I deliberately picked an Igbo man, a Catholic, to be my Chief Security Officer,†he stated.
“For the purpose of inclusivity and togetherness, again I deliberately picked a Northern Christian to be my ADC. So the so-called founder of Boko Haram is going to be protected by…"
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, also spoke at the event and criticized the Federal Government's gasoline subsidy program, claiming it solely benefited the wealthy.
Adesina bemoaned the fact that Nigeria's economy was being killed by the ongoing subsidization of petroleum goods and said that just in 2022, fuel subsidies consumed $10 billion.
He argued that Nigeria continues to borrow money for purposes for which it shouldn't be doing so and suggested that this money be used for national development instead.
“The place to start therefore is to remove the inefficient fuel subsidy. Nigeria’s fuel subsidies benefit the rich, not the poor, fuelling theirs and the government’s endless fleet of cars at the expense of the poor,†he stated.
“Estimates show that the poorest 40 per cent of the population consume just three per cent of petrol.
“Fuel subsidies are killing the Nigerian economy, costing the economy of Nigeria $10 billion in 2022. That means that Nigeria is borrowing what it doesn’t have to borrow.â€