A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has said that Christians are now more comfortable with the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket than they were ahead of the 2023 general election.
Aliyu made the remarks during an interview on ARISE Television’s The Morning Show on Thursday while reacting to President Tinubu’s decision to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential 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.
According to him, the APC saw no reason to alter a ticket that secured victory in the 2023 election, adding that the administration’s performance has convinced many Nigerians, particularly Christians, that concerns over religious imbalance were unfounded.
He stated that the intense criticism that greeted the emergence of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket before the 2023 polls has eased because the government has not discriminated against any religious group since assuming office.
“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,” Aliyu stated.
The APC chieftain said changing the vice-presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 election would have created unnecessary political uncertainty for the ruling party, stressing that retaining the existing ticket provides continuity.
“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.
Expressing optimism ahead of the next general election, Aliyu said the APC believes Nigerians will once again support the Tinubu-Shettima ticket, just as they did in 2023.
“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.”