A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dominic Alancha, has publicly advised President Bola Tinubu to abandon the Muslim-Muslim ticket strategy for the upcoming 2027 general elections.
Alancha made this statement on Wednesday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television's Politics Today program, where he expressed concerns about the implications of maintaining such a political arrangement.
According to the APC chieftain, the Muslim-Muslim ticket represents a departure from Nigeria's foundational principles established by the nation's founding fathers to prevent religious polarization.
"We are not saying there is anything wrong with Shettima, but what we are saying is that there is everything wrong with the Muslim-Muslim ticket," Alancha stated during the interview.
He further emphasized that the religious composition of the 2023 presidential ticket had significant electoral consequences, claiming that "in the 2023 general election, there were a lot of Christians that were disenfranchised as a result of that singular Muslim-Muslim ticket."
Defending the timing of his advice, Alancha insisted that his comments should not be viewed as a distraction from current governance issues. "This is not a distraction, like I said. We are only advising Mr. President to pick who his running mate is in 2027. We are saying, when that time comes, do not consider Muslim-Muslim ticket," he explained.
The 2023 presidential election saw President Tinubu, a Muslim from the Southwest, selecting former Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, also a Muslim but from the Northeast, as his running mate. This decision generated significant controversy and debate across the country, particularly among Christian groups who felt excluded from the highest levels of political representation.
Political analysts suggest that as the 2027 election cycle approaches, religious balancing in ticket selection will likely remain a critical factor in Nigerian politics, especially given the country's delicate religious demographics and historical commitment to maintaining balance in political leadership.
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