A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has warned that a Christian-Christian presidential ticket would be politically disastrous for the ruling party in Northern Nigeria, insisting that such a combination would alienate Muslim voters and weaken the party’s electoral strength in the region.
Aliyu made the statement on Friday during an interview on ARISE Television while reacting to ongoing debates over whether the APC should retain or alter the Muslim-Muslim ticket that produced President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima in the 2023 presidential election.
Anchoring his argument on demographic realities, the APC stalwart said electoral numbers would ultimately determine the party’s decisions on future ticket composition.
“In my opinion, the numbers will be looked at whether to field a Muslim or a Christian, the numbers are there to show,” Aliyu said.
“Whether in the northern part of the country there are more Muslims, it is absolutely without doubt that there are more Muslims. So any party can decide to field a Christian, but if it goes in terms of numbers, certainly there are more Muslims in the North, which is the best for the party to take a Muslim.”
He cautioned that replacing a Muslim candidate with a Christian in the North would create serious electoral consequences for the APC.
“Certainly, if you drop a Muslim for a Christian in the North, you’ll have a problem,” he said.
Aliyu also dismissed claims that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has led to religious marginalisation under the Tinubu administration, arguing that such fears have not been borne out by reality.
“This government has got nothing to show on the ground that it’s favouring the Muslims over Christians,” he said.
“So, I think the Muslim-Muslim ticket can still fly with the APC,” he added.
Addressing the possibility of a Christian-Christian ticket, the APC chieftain ruled it out entirely, saying it would be unacceptable in the North.
“Based on the North I know, the North will not be comfortable with a Christian-Christian ticket because if you do that you’re completely alienating the Muslims in the North,” Aliyu said.
His comments come amid renewed internal debates within the party, following recent remarks by the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, who warned that dropping Vice-President Kashim Shettima from the APC’s 2027 presidential ticket could prove politically damaging to the party.
