The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has stated the President Bola Tinubu-led Muslim-Muslim ticket is not a religious exclusion plot against Christians.
The Nasarawa State Governor mentioned that he prays for a day when Nigeria will produce an all-Christian presidential ticket.
Sule expressed confidence that such a pairing would emerge victorious at the polls.
The governor spoke on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he responded to concerns raised by the Nigeria Democratic Congress’s vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, over the possibility of another same-faith presidential ticket in 2027.
He dismissed suggestions that the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket amounted to religious exclusion.
He stated that the country was long overdue for a Christian-Christian coupling to test the electoral fortunes that had previously favoured Muslim-Muslim tickets.
“I pray that one day Nigeria will have a Christian-Christian ticket that will win.” “That’s what I hope to see,” Sule stated.
He remembered that the country had previously had a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 1993 election, with the late Chief Moshood Abiola.
He pointed out that such combinations had won elections in the past.
“You can see both elections have been clear that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has won,” he said.
Sule stated that it was expected of Kwankwaso, as an opposition member, to express reservations about the APC’s ticket arrangements.
He claimed that no governor from the party had ever made such claims against it.
“I think it is normal for Senator Kwankwaso, who I respect a lot, to say that because he’s opposition. He cannot say anything good in that manner. So when he said that, it was expected of him to say that.
“I don’t think he will tell me today that another governor within the APC is going to tell you he’s awful. Another governor is going to tell you he’s an albatross,” he said.
The governor highlighted Section 14(3) of the constitution, which he claimed ensures inclusion and representation in all sections of the country. He stated that Section 15 created the federal character principle of ethnicity.
“It all actually happens in Section 14(3) of the constitution, where it’s talking about making sure that there is inclusiveness, there is representation, and all parts of the country, none of them are neglected, none of them are not carried along.
“That’s where federal character came in, following Section 15 of the same constitution that also talks about ethnicity. There is no place where it talks about religion. Section 14 didn’t talk about religion. Section 15 didn’t talk about religion,” he said.
Speaking on whether he had a Christian as his deputy, Sule answered in the affirmative, noting that his deputy, Emmanuel Akabe, had held the position throughout his tenure in Nasarawa State.
“I’ve always had a Christian as a deputy. In Nasarawa State, it has always been a Christian,” he said.
When asked why it was vital to have a Christian deputy, Sule stated that the decision was based on competency rather than religious balancing and that political arrangements differed from state to state depending on local circumstances.
“No, no, no, we thought it was important because Emmanuel Akabe is competent. Our state is different from Nigeria. You cannot take a particular state.
“Take Enugu, for instance; it has a Christian-Christian arrangement. Take Bayelsa; it’s Christian-Christian,” he said.
