The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has warned that President Bola Tinubu could lose 80 percent of northern Muslim votes if he bows to calls to jettison the Muslim-Muslim ticket and drop Vice President Kashim Shettima in 2027.

The North-Central APC Forum issued the warning in a statement released by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, in Abuja on Saturday.

Ahead of the 2027 election, Tinubu has come under pressure with various groups and stakeholders urging him to drop Shettima as his running mate. Some elements in the APC argue that the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which gave Tinubu victory in 2023, will not work in 2027, when he will be seeking a second term in office.

In a recent appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum, led by Dominic Alancha, warned Tinubu against a repeat of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, noting that it cost the APC several northern states like Nasarawa, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory in the 2023 presidential poll. Alancha further warned that the APC would lose more grounds in the North, particularly in the Middle Belt, if the party repeats the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the next presidential election.

However, responding to the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum’s call on Tibubu to drop the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2027 election, the North-Central APC Forum, in the statement signed by Zazzaga, a member of the APC campaign council for the 2023 election, noted that the adoption of the Muslim-Muslim ticket was a strategy to win election and does not amount to marginalization of Christians and other religions.

Countering the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum’s assertion that Tinubu would lose Christian votes in the Middle Belt if he goes ahead with a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the North-Central APC Forum insisted that there is no way the President will lose the region, with prominent Middle Belt christians such as APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda and Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume, along others, holding key positions.

“The Muslim-Muslim ticket will not affect President Bola Tinubu’s chances in the Middle Belt, which is part of the North-Central and this is because of the key positions held by Middle Belt christians in the APC government. We can guarantee that Tinubu will get 90 percent of the votes from the North-Central,” the statement said, adding that Tinubu’s achievements in office will guarantee his reelection and as a result, there is no need to take the “needless risk of changing a winning team”.

The APC Forum advised Tinubu to maintain the status quo and go into the 2027 election with Shettima as his running mate, so as to win the election.

The North-Central APC Forum further argued that those who are asking Tinubu to drop the Muslim-Muslim ticket did not vote for him in 2023 and would still also not give him their votes in 2027 – even if he bows to their wish by dropping Shettima.

Parts of the statement read, “Those that are calling on President Bola Tinubu to change Vice President Kashim Shettima, basing their agitation on the Muslim-Muslim ticket, if you check, you will notice that in 2023, most of their communities voted for Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

“Now if Peter Obi is to come out again in 2027, as expected, what is the guarantee that they will vote for Tinubu even if he is to drop Shettima and replace him with a Christian? Does it mean that these people will now leave Peter Obi and vote for Tinubu?”

The APC Forum accused those campaigning against Shettima and the Muslim-Muslim ticket of mischief, noting that they are seeking Tinubu’s defeat in 2027.

“The truth is most of these people are not Tinubu’s supporters, they don’t really want him to win reelection in 2027. That is why some of them are going as far as urging Mr President to drop those that went to great lengths to work for his victory in 2023. They are only trying to deceive Mr President but we believe the President knows better and will be able to see through their mischief. They don’t mean well for Mr President and the party.”

The Forum, in the same vein, alleged that some people who claim to be working for the President’s reelection are alienating and marginalizing northern Muslim communities, while concentrating attention on northern Christians.

“Another issue that we want to bring to Mr President’s attention is there are people close to him – we will not mention their names but they know themselves. They are going about in different communities in the North, giving money to some communities while excluding others all in the name of asking northern Christian communities to vote for Tinubu. But while they are doing that they are alienating and marginalizing northern Muslim communities. This is counter productive and it will backfire eventually and we don’t want Mr President to suffer because of the poor decisions of these people who are close to him.

“Now these people who are concentrating on northern Christians should consider this – what if the 2023 scenario repeats itself in 2027 with Peter Obi also contesting and President Tinubu now loses both Christian and Muslim votes? What if the Christian communities again vote for Obi and the Muslim communities who are now being neglected also refuse to vote for Tinubu?

“These are the issues that these people who are calling on Mr President to drop Shettima are either not thinking about, or are ignoring because they are up to mischief and do not mean well for the President and the APC.

“Our sincere advise for Mr President is that he should maintain the status quo that produced him. We are not in support of calls for President Tinubu to change the Vice President. Changing Kashim Shettima will not bear any positive fruit in the election because, looking at the results of the 2023 election, all the Christian dominated areas in the North voted for Peter Obi and we don’t expect a different outcome in 2027. Rather, President Tinubu risks losing a large chunk of northern Muslim votes if he listens to these calls and goes ahead to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima.

“We advise Mr President not to gamble with the 2023 election. President Tinubu will lose 80 percent of northern Muslim votes if he decides to change Shettima. Even if he decides to replace him with another northern Muslim, he will lose northern Muslim votes so the best approach is to maintain the status quo and go with what worked for him in the last election,” the statement stressed.

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