APC chieftain says christians now more comfortable with muslim-muslim ticket ahead of 2027 election
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has said Christians in Nigeria are now more accepting of the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general election than they were before the 2023 polls.
Speaking on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, Aliyu defended the decision by the APC to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate, arguing that the administration has addressed earlier concerns over religious representation.
According to him, the party’s decision not to alter the winning formula was based on the confidence it gained from the outcome of the 2023 election.
“ Our leader, the President, decided in his wisdom not to change the winning ticket. And the Christians in this country, I am sure, are now comfortable, much, much more comfortable than when we came up with the Muslim-Muslim ticket,” Aliyu said.
The APC’s choice of two Muslim candidates in the 2023 presidential election sparked widespread debate, with critics raising concerns that Christians could be excluded or underrepresented in government.
However, Aliyu maintained that those fears have not materialised, insisting that the administration has governed without religious discrimination.
“That was when there was a lot of hue and cry that the Christians were going to be marginalised. Well, now it’s history that nobody is being marginalised along religious lines,” he said.
The APC chieftain added that President Tinubu has approached governance as a Nigerian leader rather than through a religious identity, arguing that the administration’s actions have demonstrated fairness across religious lines.
