As preparations gradually begin ahead of the 2027 general elections, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouq Aliyu, has argued that retaining a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket would be more advantageous for the ruling party.
Aliyu based his position on demographic realities, particularly in northern Nigeria, which he said largely favour such a configuration. He made the remarks on Friday, the 30th of January, 2026, during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
The APC chieftain maintained that while he holds personal views on the matter, he would ultimately align with whatever decision is reached by the party and its leadership, stressing that such decisions are usually driven by political strategy and the overall interest of the party.
He also disclosed that the APC leadership has cautioned members who frequently engage with the media to refrain from speculating about the future of Vice President Kashim Shettima or the party’s presidential ticket.
According to Aliyu, the choice of a Muslim-Muslim, Muslim-Christian, or Christian-Christian ticket rests solely with the party and its presidential candidate.
He said: “Well, I stand with my party actually, because these decisions for the parties and the candidates. So if, in the wisdom of our party and our president is to go with another Muslim, so be it.
“And if he decides to go with the Christians, so be it. You know, so and you remember, our party also has warned, as also spoken to us, people that have interface with the media, not speculate, at least on the Vice President Shettima.
“But whether the Muslim, or, you know, non Muslim. It’s important. That’s really, you know, I mean, time will tell. And it’s a political decision which either party can take if a party decides to go Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian is absolutely political decision which will be done at the time when things are up, which means we as a party will decide whether to go along with the best for us.
“Well, whatever my opinion will be, it will be subjective, because whether I go for, you know, as I said, it is absolutely the decision of the party and the candidate.
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“And in my opinion, the numbers will be looked at whether to filled in a Muslim or a Christian. I mean, the numbers are there to show whether in the northern part of the country there are among Muslims.
“It is absolutely without doubt there are more Muslims in the northern part of the country. So any party can decide to either pick a Christian.
“But I mean, if it goes in terms of numbers, certainly there are more Muslims in the north, which means it will be best for the party to take a Muslim, if you know, from the northern part of the country.”
Aliyu concluded by reiterating that electoral calculations, especially population distribution, would play a significant role when the party eventually settles on its ticket configuration for the 2027 polls.