Following the emergence of Prof Nentawe Yilwatda as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), speculation has begun to stir that the APC may be planning a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2027 presidential election.
Sunday Telegraph had earlier reported that Yilwatda, a northern Christian from Plateau State, was appointed the National Chairman of the ruling party on Thursday by President Bola Tinubu following the resignation of former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Yilwatda was unveiled during the APC’s emergency National Executive Committee meeting, presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Until his appointment last Thursday, Yilwatda, from the North Central region, was the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
The political calculation has triggered a debate among adherents across party lines and in religious spaces.
It would be recalled that the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 general elections provoked a storm of controversies, with the opposition alleging an Islamisation agenda.
Political watchers believe that his pick was a strategic gambit by the ruling APC, and it is a pointer to what is coming ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The APC had courted strong criticism and outrage in 2023 when its then-presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, a southern Muslim, picked Kashim Shettima, a northern Muslim, as his running mate.
Many Nigerians, especially from the Christian community, criticised the Tinubu-Shettima Muslim-Muslim ticket, raising questions about inclusivity and democratic representation.
Since then, the Muslim-Muslim ticket has continued to be a flashpoint of intense political debate in certain parts of the country.
The debate resurfaced a few months ago when a top northern Muslim group, Arewa Youth Movement, urged President Tinubu to choose a northern Christian as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
The group, in a statement issued in April by its National President, Muhammad Aboki, emphasised the need for religious balance in national leadership.
They argued that even though the joint Muslim ticket worked successfully for both Tinubu and the APC in 2023, employing the same strategy in 2027 might backfire.
Another Muslim advocacy group, Concerned Northern Muslim Ummah, in May also made a similar appeal, citing the need for religious balance, national unity and political fairness.
The group, in a statement by its convener, Bala Duguri, urged potential Muslim aspirants for the vice presidential slot within the APC to voluntarily step down in favour of a Christian candidate.
But the Presidency dismissed the debate, insisting that the controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket was no longer an issue as the Tinubu-Shettima performance had dispelled fears about any hidden religious agenda.
“Christians are living their lives. The President even attended the Pope’s inauguration in Rome. There is nothing to worry about.
“Many of the names being speculated as potential running mates are Muslims. So again, this is not an issue,” the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in an interview with Daily Trust.
Lately, there have been intense debates within the APC as to whether Tinubu should retain Shettima as his running mate for 2027.
In June, the North-East APC stakeholders’ meeting became rancorous after the National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, alongside ex-National Chairman, Ganduje, failed to mention Shettima’s name while endorsing President Tinubu for a second term.
However, Yilwatda’s appointment appears to have shifted the political conversation, renewing hopes for Shettima’s retention, especially considering that former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo had each maintained the same running mate throughout their respective eight-year tenures.
