Jingir: No Regrets About Muslim–Muslim Ticket Stand

Leader of the Izala Scholars Council and Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yahaya Jingir, has declared that he would continue to encourage adherents to support Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Jingir said he has no regrets over his recent declaration of support for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket despite criticisms.

In an interview with BBC Hausa monitored in Kaduna, Jingir, explained that as a Muslim preacher, he had the right to advocate a political arrangement that was consistent with his religious convictions. Jingir also challenged claims that Christians or other religious groups constituted a larger population than Muslims in Nigeria.

He said his position was not politically motivated or intended to campaign for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but was based on what he described as his responsibility as a Muslim.

According to him, “I will continue to support and encourage the Muslim-Muslim ticket. What they say would not stop me. They started it; at a point, we suffered in their hands,” he claimed.

Jingir had during a mass wedding organised by the Kano State government for 1,500 couples, declared his support for the Muslim-Muslim arrangement and urged Muslims to vote the ticket to show their numerical strength in the country.

Jingir stated that he had decided to support the Muslim-Muslim ticket after President Tinubu announced it for the 2023 elections.