2027: APC Chieftain Says Christians Now More Comfortable With Muslim-Muslim Ticket 

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has said many Nigerian Christians are now more accepting of the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket than they were before the 2023 general election, arguing that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has dispelled fears of religious marginalisation.

Aliyu made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance on ARISE Television’s The Morning Show while reacting to President Tinubu’s decision to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

He said the President’s decision to maintain the Tinubu-Shettima ticket was informed by the success of the pair in the 2023 election and the confidence they have since earned from Nigerians.

“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.

He recalled that the APC’s decision to field two Muslim candidates in the 2023 presidential election generated widespread criticism, with many expressing concerns that Christians could be sidelined in government.

“That was when there was a lot of hue and cry that the Christians were going to be marginalized. Well, now it’s history that nobody is being marginalized along religious lines,” he said.

According to Aliyu, President Tinubu has governed without religious bias since assuming office.

“President Tinubu has been leading this country as a Nigerian, not anybody with any religious toga,” he stated.

The APC stalwart said the party was satisfied with the decision to retain Shettima, adding that altering the ticket could have created avoidable political complications ahead of the next election.

“Now it is our own decision, the party, of course, through the leader, to retain Kashim Shettima, and we are very happy that the ticket has not been tinkered with, so that we also, as a party, don’t have to start thinking what next to do,” he said.

Aliyu expressed confidence that Nigerians would once again endorse the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in the 2027 presidential election.

“We’ve tried it when it was hectic, when it was about impossible, and Nigerians believed in us, gave us the chance, and we are doing it again. And we hope Nigerians will believe in us and give us a chance again with the Muslim-Muslim ticket,” he added.

The Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the APC in the 2023 election remained one of the most debated aspects of the party’s campaign, drawing criticism from some religious groups and political stakeholders who argued that it did not reflect Nigeria’s religious diversity. However, the Tinubu-Shettima ticket went on to win the presidential election, and the APC has now opted to retain the same pairing for the 2027 poll.