President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are facing mounting pressure to reconsider the Muslim-Muslim ticket as the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum (NENF) urged the party to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking in Abuja, NENF president Dr Dominic Alancha warned that Nigeria “stands at a precipice” and cannot afford leadership that “deepens our divides” at a time when hunger, insecurity, and sectarian violence are testing national unity.
Alancha recalled the backlash from the 2023 elections, when Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket “ignited unprecedented religious tensions, alienated millions of Christians, and fuelled fears of exclusion.”
He said: “Over 80 percent of Northern Christians rejected the APC in 2023. That rejection cost the party states like Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and even the FCT. Many of our Christian allies defected, warning of catastrophic consequences for Nigeria’s fragile unity.”
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He added that Tinubu won only 36 percent of Northern votes and risked further losses if the party repeated the same formula.
“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 cautioned.
The forum is urging Tinubu to choose a Northern Christian running mate, preferably from Plateau, Bauchi, or Taraba, to “broaden APC’s appeal without compromising merit” and “restore balance to the federation.”
Citing Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leader Rev Yakubu Pam, Alancha stressed: “Inclusiveness stabilises democracy.”
He further argued: “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.”
NENF, which says it has the backing of 127 ethnic associations across the North, vowed to mobilise its 20-million-strong membership until “justice prevails.”
“To President Tinubu, we say: seize this historic chance to be the healer Nigeria needs,” Alancha declared.