2027: Northern group asks Tinubu, APC to drop Muslim-Muslim ticket

The Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum (NENF) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to abandon the idea of fielding a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 2027 elections, warning that such a move could endanger national unity and weaken the party’s electoral chances.

Speaking in Abuja, the group’s president, Dr. Dominic Alancha, said Nigeria “stands at a precipice” and cannot afford leadership that “deepens our divides” at a time when hunger, insecurity, and sectarian violence are testing the country’s cohesion.

Alancha argued that the ruling party must learn from the fallout of the 2023 elections, when President Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket “ignited unprecedented religious tensions, alienated millions of Christians, and fueled fears of exclusion.”

He said that grassroots realities “tell a different story” from official claims that the debate is no longer relevant, pointing to what he described as a strong Christian backlash in the North.

“Over 80 percent of Northern Christians rejected the APC in 2023,” Alancha said.

“That rejection cost the party states like Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and even the FCT. Many of our Christian allies within the APC defected, warning of catastrophic consequences for Nigeria’s fragile unity.”

He also noted that the ruling party’s performance showed vulnerability, with Tinubu securing just 36 percent of Northern votes.

“If the APC repeats the Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2027, it could lose the entire Middle Belt—Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, the FCT, as well as Southern Kaduna and parts of Bauchi, Borno, and Gombe,” he warned.

The forum is urging Tinubu and the APC to consider a Northern Christian as vice presidential candidate, preferably from Plateau, Bauchi, or Taraba States.

According to Alancha, such a choice “would broaden APC’s appeal without compromising merit” and “restore balance to the federation.”

He referenced the words of Northern CAN leader, Rev. Yakubu Pam, who has said, “Inclusiveness stabilizes democracy.”

Alancha further argued that Nigeria’s founding fathers established religious balance as a principle of governance, adding that the 1985 Buhari military regime, the country’s only full Muslim executive, “remains a dark memory of exclusion.

“What we are asking is not charity but justice,” Alancha said.

“Competence need not sacrifice inclusivity. Vice President Shettima, though capable, cannot heal the wounds of exclusion. A Northern Christian vice president is the moral and electoral imperative.”

The NENF president called on Tinubu to make a public commitment that the APC would not repeat the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

He claimed that such a move could “flip votes in the North-Central and Middle Belt by up to 45 percent” and secure broader national support.

“To President Tinubu, we say: seize this historic chance to be the healer Nigeria needs,” Alancha declared.

“Our 20-million-strong network will mobilize relentlessly until justice prevails.”

The forum said its position has been endorsed by 127 ethnic associations across Northern Nigeria.