APC’s Aliyu Says Tinubu Regime Has Eased Fears Over Muslim-Muslim Ticket Ahead of 2027

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has said many Nigerian Christians are now more receptive to the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket than they were before the 2023 general election, attributing the shift to President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, which he said has dispelled fears of religious marginalisation.

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

Defending the decision, the APC stalwart said the party opted to maintain the Tinubu-Shettima ticket because it had already earned the confidence of Nigerians in 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 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 2023 attracted widespread criticism, with many expressing concerns that Christians could be sidelined in government.

‎According to him, those fears have not materialised.

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

Aliyu further argued that President Tinubu has governed the country without religious bias since assuming office.

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

‎He added that the party welcomed the decision to retain Shettima, noting that altering the presidential ticket could have created avoidable political complications within the APC.

“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,” Aliyu said.

Expressing confidence ahead of the 2027 presidential election, the APC chieftain said the party believes Nigerians will once again endorse the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.

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