Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yahya Jingir, has sparked debate after calling for the continued adoption of Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Jingir made the call at an event attended by some All Progressives Congress governors, including Abba Yusuf (Kano) and Umar Namadi (Jigawa State), according to a video going viral on Sunday.
The cleric praised President Bola Tinubu for promoting the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election and said he remained a strong advocate of the arrangement.
Reacting to this, Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, said Jingir’s comments were highly provocative and warned against what he described as extremist rhetoric.
He said Nigeria was neither a Muslim nor Christian country, describing it as a secular and multi-religious state.
Fani-Kayode said his support for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2027 was based on the candidates’ qualities rather than their religion.