The decision of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to go into the 2027 presidential election with a Muslim-Muslim ticket has reopened the debate that dominated the 2023 election.
Last week, President Tinubu re-nominated Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 Presidential election, a move that is again generating mixed feelings among Nigerians.
While the ruling party and their supporters see it as a political master-stroke that would guarantee stability and continuity, other Nigerians argue that in a multi-religious country like Nigeria, the same faith ticket is akin to discarding the feelings of the adherents of other faiths.
Much controversy, intense debates, views and opinions had been held before now concerning Shettima’s vice presidential candidacy and the prospect of the ruling APC repeating the same faith ticket against the view of many Nigerians who opposed it before the 2023 election.
All of them have expressed their views on the development including groups such as the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Northern Christian Elders’ Forum, NOSCEF, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF and individuals.
Reacting to the development, the Senator representing Plateau Central, Diket Plang, commended the decision, saying it was a demonstration of recognition of loyalty, stability, courage and continuity in governance.
Tinubu’s decision not to change his running mate despite pressure from different quarters would promote national unity and policy continuity, he said, adding that he was happy with the decision.
I thank God that President Tinubu has stood firm and kept Shettima as his vice president.
“That’s the highest level of stability. I am proud of that decision because Shettima has been loyal, active, accessible and committed to the success of this administration,” he added.
He urged Nigerians to be willing to make personal sacrifices in support of the Tinubu administration, insisting that his vision, courage, inclusiveness and commitment to infrastructure development deserved broad national backing.
Major Bello M. Magaji, a retired military officer and professor of law, also lent his weight behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket, describing it as a strategic and commendable decision.
I believe it does, beyond political symbolism, promote continuity in governance which is crucial at this stage of Nigeria’s development.
First, the same ticket keeps institutional memory and policy continuity. The administration has already set in motion key reforms in the economy, security and governance architecture and a change in leadership Configuration midway may disrupt the momentum and weaken the ongoing efforts.
In this sense, continuity provides stability and allows policies to mature and yield measurable results.
“Also, over the years, the Tinubu–Shettima partnership has built a working synergy that is essential to the effective coordination of the executive. Trust, familiarity and a common strategic vision help enormously in the conduct of governance at the highest level; qualities that are not easily reconstructed in a new political pairing.
“Third, from the perspective of political management, the decision reflects confidence and internal cohesion within the ruling structure. “It signals that performance, loyalty and alignment with the administration’s agenda are being rewarded, which can strengthen discipline and focus within the government,” he said in an interview.
But for a chieftain of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba, APC’s decision to run on the same faith ticket is a lost opportunity to promote national inclusion and unity.
He said the reported reaffirmation of the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket was a political convenience, rather than national inclusion, adding that while the Nigerian Constitution does not prohibit such an arrangement, political leadership should be sensitive to the country’s religious and ethnic diversity.
In a statement he said Nigeria’s current socio-economic and security challenges require leadership that promotes national cohesion and leadership that reassures all segments of the population that they are well represented in the government.
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He said the APC could have sent a stronger message of unity by adopting a more religiously and regionally inclusive ticket for the 2027 general election.
“Nigeria’s strength is in its diversity. Our federation is based on mutual respect for the people of different religions, ethnic background and regions. A leadership that consciously reflects this diversity will strengthen national confidence and reinforce the principle that no group should be excluded from the highest levels of governance,” he said.
But he insisted that Nigerians should not pay attention to political symbolism or personalities in the run-up to the 2027 elections but assess candidates on the basis of their competence, track records, policy proposals and ability to tackle the country’s pressing challenges.
He said the political discourse should be dominated by issues such as economic recovery, insecurity, unemployment, accountability and good governance as the country prepares for another electoral cycle.
He said the NRM leader said Nigeria deserves to be led by a leadership that can inspire confidence across religious, regional and ethnic lines, while governing fairly and promoting national development. The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has also expressed disappointment over the development, describing it as a continuation of a strategy that has failed to reflect Nigeria’s religious and regional diversity.
The forum’s national spokesperson, Luka Binniyat, said in a statement that the decision was another missed opportunity to recognize the strategic importance of the Middle Belt in the political landscape of Nigeria.
It said that the reconfirmation of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket means the continuation of the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket that leaves out even Muslims from the Middle Belt.
The forum, which claimed it was constituted in 1954 to protect the socio-political interests of over 300 ethnic nationalities in 14 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, argued that the region had continued to show goodwill and support for the Tinubu administration despite its predominantly Christian population.
“We see this as another missed opportunity to acknowledge the strategic importance of the Middle Belt, which today gives President Tinubu’s administration tremendous goodwill and support despite its predominantly Christian population,” the statement read.
The President’s decision could be seen as a lack of appreciation for the political significance of the region, it said, adding:
“It would seem the President does not value the Middle Belt and its 60 per cent voting population of Northern Nigeria, in our move to produce the 2031 President, by overlooking the Middle Belt once again,” he said.
The forum argued that Nigeria’s top political positions should reflect the country’s religious and cultural diversity.
“The MBF has always held that the Nigerian presidency should represent the nation’s religious and cultural diversity where the Muslims and Christians are not in a clear majority.
“Nigeria is a multi-religious nation, with Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths, so the highest offices of government should be about inclusion, fairness and national unity,” Binniyat said.
The forum said it had not taken a definitive political position for the 2027 election despite its criticism of the composition of the presidential ticket.
“But the Middle Belt Forum will not rush into taking a political position on the 2027 presidential election.
“Our stance would be dictated by the resolutions of our BoT and the NWC, which would deliberate thoroughly on the political party and candidate that would protect and promote the interests of the Middle Belt and the unity of Nigeria,” the group said.
The Northern Christian Elders Forum, NOSCEF, has also opposed the APC’s decision.
Chairman of the christian group, Elder Sunday Oibe, said the proponents of Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket should tell Nigerians how far the current same faith ticket had gone to grow and develop Nigeria and her citizens since 2023.
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He said “I don’t have much of a comment for now rather to wish them well. Nigerians should measure how well they had fared with the Muslim Muslim ticket of Tinubu/Shetima ticket.
“The question to the proponents of Muslim Muslim tickets should be ‘how market?’ Nigerians will speak at the appropriate time.
However, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has not taken an official position on the development.
Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the national publicity secretary of the ACF, said the forum has only received reports of the development and has not met to deliberate on the matter.
He said the choice of a running mate is still left for the President Tinubu and the APC but the Forum would wait to see how the implications of the decision played out before making any formal pronouncement.
“The ACF has just received the news of the reappointment of the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, as the running mate to President Bola Tinubu and has not yet deliberated and taken a definite position on the matter.
“The Forum simply wants to state that the decision is that of the President and the APC for now. The ACF will observe the repercussions of the decision,” Muhammad-Baba said.
Rather than the concerns about the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidency, he said the more important issue should be whether any combination of candidates delivers good governance and addresses the country’s challenges.
Ultimately, he said, it’s up to the electorate to decide which ticket gets their support at the polls.
But former scribe of ACF, Mr Anthony Sani believes Tinubu cannot be faulted if he sees Muslim-Muslim ticket as his winning game plan for the ruling party.
He also said: “If the move, to some people, is not a winning game plan, they are free to nullify it with their superior game plan.
“After all we are in a multiparty democracy which allows political parties to formulate their own strategies. “Democracy at work, as they say,” he told an interviewer.
Some analysts say that while the Muslim-Muslim ticket remains a subject of debate, it is also important to judge leadership on the basis of competence, delivery and national impact.
To the APC faithful, Shettima’s re-designation as vice presidential candidate is more about keeping the train moving, consolidating gains and ensuring the administration’s long-term objectives are not derailed.