Northern forum urges Tinubu, APC to drop Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2027

The Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum (NENF) has urged President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to abandon any plans for another Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027, cautioning that it could deepen national divisions and hurt the party’s chances at the polls.

Speaking in Abuja, NENF president Dr. Dominic Alancha said Nigeria “stands at a precipice” and must avoid leadership choices that “deepen our divides” while the country battles hunger, insecurity, and sectarian tensions.

Alancha argued that lessons from the 2023 elections must not be ignored, warning that President Tinubu’s ticket then “ignited unprecedented religious tensions, alienated millions of Christians, and fueled fears of exclusion.”

He dismissed claims that the controversy has faded, citing what he described as a strong Christian backlash in Northern states.

“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.”

Alancha also pointed to the party’s weak showing in the North, where Tinubu captured only 36 percent of the vote.

“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 group also called on Tinubu and the APC to select a Northern Christian running mate, preferably from Plateau, Bauchi, or Taraba States.

Such a decision, Alancha said, “would broaden APC’s appeal without compromising merit” and “restore balance to the federation.”

He cited Northern CAN leader Rev. Yakubu Pam, who has said, “Inclusiveness stabilizes democracy.”

Alancha stressed that Nigeria’s founding fathers built religious balance into governance and recalled that the 1985 Buhari military regime—the country’s only exclusively 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 forum urged President Tinubu to openly pledge that the APC will not repeat a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Alancha claimed such a move could “flip votes in the North-Central and Middle Belt by up to 45 percent” and secure wider national backing.

“To President Tinubu, we say: seize this historic chance to be the healer Nigeria needs.
“Our 20-million-strong network will mobilize relentlessly until justice prevails,” Alancha said.

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