The NNPC has taken down a tweet that said Bola Tinubu will pick a Muslim as running mate in 2023.

“He will run with a Muslim VP,” said the tweet that went out on Wednesday afternoon from the state-run oil firm’s official Twitter handle, hours after Mr Tinubu clinched the ruling party ticket.

The tweet was deleted after being lampooned by Nigerians. The NNPC issued a statement disclaiming the tweet and claiming its account was hacked, a claim mocked by social media users.

Although it is not uncommon for people handling multiple Twitter accounts to send out tweets from a wrong handle, some commenters still expressed fears that the tweet showed the bias of people running the NNPC.

Mr Tinubu, 70, will face Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party at the vote scheduled for February 2023.

Debates have flared about whether or not Mr Tinubu, a Muslim from Lagos in southern Nigeria, would be picking a Muslim vice presidential candidate from Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria.

Mr Tinubu has not said whether or not he would be running with a Muslim or a Christian, but his campaign surrogates have said the ruling party won’t field a Muslim-Muslim ticket because it would be difficult to sell to Nigerians.