An All Progressives Congress chieftain has warned that replacing a Muslim running mate with a Christian candidate in northern Nigeria would create serious political problems due to the region’s demographic composition.
Farouk Aliyu made this stark prediction during an interview with ARISE News on Friday, January 30, whilst defending the logic behind selecting running mates based on population numbers rather than religious balance.
The APC chieftain’s warning comes amid intensifying debate over whether the ruling party should maintain its Muslim-Muslim ticket strategy for the 2027 presidential election or adopt a Muslim-Christian pairing to address concerns about religious representation.
“Certainly, if you drop a Muslim for a Christian in the north, there’ll be a problem. Certainly, that’s because of the numbers, that’s what we’re talking about,” Aliyu stated.
He argued that political parties must face demographic realities when making strategic decisions about running mates, emphasising that northern Nigeria’s Muslim majority makes it politically rational to select a Muslim vice presidential candidate.
“Whether in the northern part of the country there are more Muslims 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 from the northern part of the country,” he explained.
Aliyu insisted that the choice should ultimately rest with voters, suggesting that Nigerians dissatisfied with a Muslim-Muslim ticket are free to vote for alternative parties.
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“In terms of their values, their governance. It’s for the people to decide. What I’m saying, it then left for the people to decide. If you field Muslim-Muslim ticket, if the people of this country feel so bad about it, so be it. Let them vote for any party of their choice,” he said.
The APC chieftain dismissed concerns that such a ticket would alienate southern Christians, arguing that representation should be determined strictly by numbers rather than assumptions about favouritism or exclusion.
“No. We’re talking about numbers. In the northern part of this country, there are more Muslims than the Christians. So no representation. So that’s it,” he stated.
Aliyu also defended President Bola Tinubu against accusations of relying solely on elite advisors from affluent Lagos neighbourhoods, insisting the president draws counsel from across Nigeria’s diverse regions.
“I think there are so many people around the president who are not from Ikoyi and Victoria Island. I mean, I can name a lot of them, you know. But of course, he has people that are working with him that he knows more than other people.
“And as a president of Nigeria, you cannot be said to be leading the country with just a few people. And I’m sure President Bola Tinubu is not doing that. There are people across the country that help him to govern this country,” he stated.
His remarks have added fuel to an already contentious debate within Nigeria’s political establishment about whether demographic considerations should outweigh religious balance when selecting national leadership, particularly as the 2027 election approaches.
The APC’s 2023 Muslim-Muslim ticket of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima sparked significant controversy before the election, with critics arguing it excluded Christians from executive power and supporters maintaining it was strategically sound for winning key northern states.