An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Farouk Aliyu, has claimed that Nigerian Christians are now more comfortable with the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket than they were before the 2023 general election.
Aliyu made the statement during an appearance on ARISE Television’s The Morning Show on Thursday, following President Bola Tinubu’s decision to retain Vice-President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
While defending the decision, the APC chieftain said the party chose to maintain the existing ticket because it had gained the confidence of Nigerians after winning 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,” he said.
Aliyu recalled that the APC’s decision to present two Muslim candidates in 2023 sparked strong opposition, with critics expressing concerns that Christians could face exclusion under the administration.
“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 stated.
He argued that Tinubu’s administration had demonstrated religious neutrality since taking office, saying the President had governed as a leader for all Nigerians.
“President Tinubu has been leading this country as a Nigerian, not anybody with any religious toga,” he said.
Aliyu added that the party welcomed the decision to keep Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate, noting that changing the ticket could have introduced unnecessary political complications for 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,” he said.
The APC chieftain expressed confidence that Nigerians would support the Tinubu-Shettima ticket again in 2027.
“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,” Aliyu said.