Public affairs analyst and president of the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum (NENF), Dominic Alancha, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to abandon the idea of fielding another Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027.
Concerns Over National Unity
In a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday, Alancha stressed that Nigeria cannot afford a leadership model that worsens divisions at a time when hunger, insecurity, and sectarian violence are already testing the nation’s cohesion.
He warned that presenting a Muslim-Muslim ticket again could endanger national unity and also weaken the APC’s electoral chances.
Lessons From the 2023 Elections
Alancha argued that the ruling party should learn from the outcome of the 2023 elections.
He recalled that Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket in that election triggered unprecedented religious tensions, alienated millions of Christians, and fueled fears of exclusion.
According to him, more than 80 percent of Northern Christians rejected the APC in 2023, which cost the party crucial states like Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and even the Federal Capital Territory.
Defections and Warnings Within the Party
The analyst also pointed out that many Christian allies within the APC defected before the 2023 elections, warning of the catastrophic consequences such a strategy could have on Nigeria’s fragile unity.
Background on Tinubu’s 2023 Victory
President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima ran on a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 general elections.
Despite the criticisms, they emerged victorious.
However, Alancha insists that repeating the same formula in 2027 could spell disaster for the APC and for Nigeria’s unity.