The decision of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to go into the 2027 presidential election with a Muslim-Muslim ticket has reopened the debate that dominated the 2023 election.
Last week, President Tinubu re-nominated Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 Presidential election, a move that is again eliciting mixed feelings among Nigerians.
While the ruling party and their supporters see it as a political master-stroke that would guarantee stability and continuity, other Nigerians argue that in a multi-religious country like Nigeria, the same faith ticket is akin to discarding the feelings of the adherents of other faiths.
Before now, much controversy, intense debates, views and opinions had been held concerning Shettima’s vice presidential candidacy and the prospect of the ruling APC repeating the same faith ticket against the view of many Nigerians who opposed it before the 2023 election.
All of them have expressed their views on the development including groups like the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Northern Christian Elders’ Forum, NOSCEF, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF and individuals.
Reacting to the development, the Senator representing Plateau Central, Diket Plang, praised the decision, saying it was a demonstration of recognition of loyalty, stability, courage and continuity in governance.
He said he was happy with the decision of Tinubu not to change his running mate despite pressure from different quarters, saying that it would promote national unity and policy continuity.
I am thankful to God that President Tinubu has remained strong and retained Shettima as his vice president.
“That’s the highest level of stability. I am proud of that decision because Shettima has been loyal, active, accessible and committed to the success of this administration,” he added.
He called on Nigerians to be willing to make personal sacrifices in support of the Tinubu administration, insisting that his vision, courage, inclusiveness and commitment to infrastructure development deserved broad national backing.
A retired military officer and professor of law, Major Bello M. Magaji, also threw his weight behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket, describing it as a strategic and commendable decision.
I think it does, besides political symbolism, promote continuity of governance which is very important at this stage of Nigeria’s development.
First, the same ticket preserves institutional memory and continuity of policy. The administration has already set in motion key reforms in the economy, security and governance architecture and a change in leadership configuration midway may disrupt the momentum and weaken the ongoing efforts.
In this sense continuity gives stability and allows policies to mature and produce measurable results.
“Moreover, the Tinubu–Shettima partnership has established a working synergy over the years, which is vital to the effective coordination of the executive. Trust, familiarity and a common strategic vision help enormously in the conduct of governance at the highest level; qualities that are not easily reconstructed in a new political pairing.
“Third, politically, the decision demonstrates the confidence and internal coherence of the ruling structure. He said in an interview, “It signals that performance, loyalty and alignment with the administration’s agenda are being rewarded, which can strengthen discipline and focus within the government.
But for a chieftain of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba, APC’s decision to run on the same faith ticket is a lost opportunity to promote national inclusion and unity.
He said the reported reaffirmation of the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket was a political convenience, rather than national inclusion, adding that while the Nigerian Constitution does not prohibit such an arrangement, political leadership should be sensitive to the country’s religious and ethnic diversity.
He said in a statement that Nigeria’s current socio-economic and security challenges call for leadership that fosters national cohesion and leadership that assures all segments of the population that they are well represented in the government.
He said the APC could have sent a stronger message of unity by adopting a more religiously and regionally inclusive ticket for the 2027 general election.
“Nigeria’s strength is in its diversity. Our federation is built on mutual respect between people of different religions, ethnic background and regions. A leadership that consciously reflects this diversity will strengthen national confidence and reinforce the principle that no group should be excluded from the highest levels of governance,” he said.
But he insisted that Nigerians should not focus on political symbolism or personalities in the run-up to the 2027 elections but judge candidates on the basis of their competence, track records, policy proposals and ability to address the country’s pressing challenges.
He said as the country prepares for another electoral cycle, the political discourse should be dominated by issues such as economic recovery, insecurity, unemployment, accountability and good governance.
The NRM leader said Nigeria deserves to be led by a leadership that can inspire confidence across religious, regional and ethnic lines, while governing fairly and promoting national development. The Middle Belt Forum, MBF has also expressed disappointment over the development, describing it as a continuation of a strategy that has failed to reflect Nigeria’s religious and regional diversity.
The forum’s national spokesperson, Luka Binniyat, said in a statement that the decision was another missed opportunity to recognize the strategic importance of the Middle Belt in the political landscape of Nigeria.
It said the reconfirmation of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket means the continuation of the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket that leaves even Muslims from the Middle Belt out.
The forum, which said it was formed in 1954 to safeguard the socio-political interests of over 300 ethnic nationalities in 14 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, said the region had continued to show goodwill and support for the Tinubu administration despite its largely Christian population.
“We see this as another missed opportunity to acknowledge the strategic importance of the Middle Belt which today gives President Tinubu’s administration tremendous goodwill and support despite its predominantly Christian population,” the statement read.
The President’s move could be read as a failure to appreciate the political importance of the region, it said, adding:
“It would seem the President does not value the Middle Belt and its 60 per cent voting population of Northern Nigeria, in our move to produce the 2031 President, by discounting the Middle Belt once again,” he said.
The forum said the country’s top political positions should reflect its religious and cultural diversity.
“The MBF has always held that the Nigerian presidency should represent the nation’s religious and cultural diversity where the Muslims and Christians are not in a clear majority.
“Nigeria is a multi-religious nation, with Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths, so the highest offices of government should be about inclusion, fairness and national unity,” Binniyat said.
The forum said it had not taken a definitive political position for the 2027 election despite its criticism of the composition of the presidential ticket.
“But the Middle Belt Forum will not rush into taking a political position on the 2027 presidential election.
“Our position will be determined by the resolutions of our BoT and the NWC, which would deliberate thoroughly on the political party and candidate that would protect and promote the interests of the Middle Belt and the unity of Nigeria,” the group said.
The Northern Christian Elders Forum, NOSCEF, has also opposed the APC’s decision.
Chairman of the christian group, Elder Sunday Oibe, said the proponents of Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket should tell Nigerians how far the current same faith ticket had gone to grow and develop Nigeria and her citizens since 2023.
He said “I don’t have much of a comment for now rather to wish them well. Nigerians should measure how well they had fared with the Muslim Muslim ticket of Tinubu/Shetima ticket.
“The question to the proponents of Muslim Muslim tickets should be ‘how market?’ Nigerians will speak at the appropriate time.
But the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has yet to take an official position on the development.
Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the national publicity secretary of the ACF, said the forum has only received reports of the development and has not met to deliberate on the matter.
He said the choice of a running mate was still left for the President Tinubu and the APC but the Forum would wait to see how the implications of the decision played out before making any formal pronouncement.
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“The ACF has just been informed about the reappointment of the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, as the running mate to President Bola Tinubu and has not yet held any deliberations or taken any definitive stance on the issue.
“The Forum simply wants to state that the decision is that of the President and the APC for now. The ACF will observe the repercussions of the decision,” Muhammad-Baba said.
He said the more important issue should be whether any combination of candidates delivers good governance and addresses the country’s challenges, rather than the concerns about the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidency.
Ultimately, he said, it will be up to the electorate to decide which ticket gets their support at the polls.
But former scribe of ACF, Mr Anthony Sani believes that if Tinubu sees Muslim-Muslim ticket as his winning game plan for the ruling party, he cannot be faulted.
He also said: “If the move, to some people, is not a winning game plan, they are free to nullify it with their superior game plan.
“After all we are in a multiparty democracy which allows political parties to develop their own strategies. “Democracy at work,” as they say,” he told an interviewer.
Some analysts say that while the Muslim-Muslim ticket is still a subject of debate, it is also important to judge leadership on the basis of competence, delivery and national impact.
For APC supporters, the re-designation of Shettima as the vice presidential candidate is more about keeping the train moving, consolidating gains, and ensuring the administration’s long-term objectives are not derailed.
