Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum has urged President Bola Tinubu to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima and avoid repeating the Muslim-Muslim ticket, insisting that inclusivity is vital for Nigeria’s unity.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group’s leader, Dominic Alancha, stressed that national cohesion could only be achieved through balanced representation.
Despite strong opposition during the 2023 campaign, Tinubu, then the APC presidential candidate, picked former Borno State governor Shettima as his running mate. The pair went on to win the election on the APC platform.
Although reports suggest Tinubu may not retain Shettima in 2027, the Presidency has maintained that the President will announce his decision at the appropriate time.
Analysts believe that the recent replacement of Abdullahi Ganduje with Netanwe Yilwatda as APC National Chairman could signal the party’s intention to repeat the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The NENF, however, warned that such a move could cost the APC critical battleground states in the Middle Belt—Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi and the FCT—as well as parts of Southern Kaduna, Southern Borno, Gombe and Bauchi.
“The Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum, representing the marginalised ethnic nationalities of Northern Nigeria, issues a clarion call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC to abandon plans for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027. Our demand is rooted in the urgent need for national cohesion, electoral viability, and justice for Nigeria’s diverse religious and ethnic communities,” the statement read.
The group argued that the 2023 Muslim-Muslim ticket heightened religious tension, alienated millions of Christians, and fueled fears of Islamisation. It cited the Christian Association of Nigeria’s warning that such a strategy risked emboldening non-state actors threatening national unity.
According to the NENF, over 80 per cent of northern Christians rejected the APC in 2023, costing the party Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa and the FCT, while several high-profile Christian politicians defected in protest.
The group also noted that Tinubu secured only 36 per cent of the votes in the North despite the region’s Muslim majority—an indication of the ticket’s weakness.
“A repeat of the Muslim-Muslim ticket could see the APC lose Middle Belt states, where northern Christians command about 90 per cent of the votes. Even Muslim groups such as the Concerned Northern Muslim Ummah have warned that retaining the ticket might backfire. Peter Obi’s sweeping victories in Christian-dominated regions during the last election proved that exclusionary politics fuels opposition. A potential Obi–Atiku alliance could dismantle the APC’s support base,” it added.
The NENF reminded the APC that Nigeria’s founding fathers deliberately enshrined religious balance to prevent national polarisation, warning against repeating what it described as the “dark memory” of the 1985 Buhari-led military regime—the country’s only full Muslim executive.
While acknowledging Shettima’s competence, the group maintained that he cannot address the grievances caused by the 2023 ticket. It urged Tinubu to instead consider a northern Christian from Plateau, Bauchi, or Taraba as running mate in 2027.
“We urge the President to make a public commitment to renounce the Muslim-Muslim ticket and restore national trust. Adopting a northern Christian vice president will broaden APC’s appeal, secure the North-Central and much of the Middle Belt, and raise the party’s vote share by up to 45 per cent in 2027. This would follow the inclusive model adopted by Obasanjo and Buhari—balancing merit with national unity,” the statement concluded.
