BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – With political conversations gravitating around the same faith presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Narasawa State has openly wished that Nigeria witnesses an unprecedented all-Christian presidential victory in the years to come.
In a remark meant to defend his Party’s same-faith tickets, Sule said he prays for a day when Nigeria will produce an all-Christian presidential ticket, arguing that the 1999 Constitution emphasizes ethnic and regional representation rather than religious balancing.
Governor Sule, who gave his opinion on Nigeria’s political power which many stakeholders believe balances on a razor-thin wire of religious compromise, expressed confidence that such a pairing would again emerge victorious at the polls come next year.
Appearing on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, he shut down concerns raised by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Vice Presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, over another same-faith presidential ticket in 2027, and dismissed suggestions that the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket amounted to religious exclusion.
Further igniting debate over faith, power, and the future of Nigeria, the Nasarawa State Chief Executive said the country was, in fact, overdue for a Christian-Christian pairing to test the same electoral fortune that had favoured Muslim-Muslim tickets in the past.
“I pray that one day Nigeria will have a Christian-Christian ticket, and it will win. That’s what I pray to see,” he said, recalling that the country had previously witnessed a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket through the late Chief Moshood Abiola in the 1993 election.
He noted that the pairings had gone on to record victory at the polls in 1993, adding: “You can see both elections have been clear that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has won.”
Taking a swipe at Senator Kwankwaso’s comments on the Muslim-Muslim ticket, Governor Sule said as an opposition member, it was expected of the NDC’s Vice Presidential candidate to raise concerns about the APC’s ticket arrangement, arguing that no governor within the party had ever made similar allegations against it.
According to him: “I think it is normal for Senator Kwankwaso, who I respect a lot, to say that because he’s opposition. He cannot say anything good in that manner. So when he said that, it is expected of him to say that.
“I don’t think he will tell me today that another governor within the APC is going to tell you he’s awful. Another governor is going to tell you he’s an albatross.”
Governor Sule, who cited Section 14 (3) of the constitution as providing for inclusiveness and representation across all parts of the country, said Section 15 established the federal character principle around ethnicity, adding: “It all actually happens in Section 14 (3) of the constitution, where it’s talking about making sure that there is inclusiveness, there is representation, and all parts of the country, none of them is neglected, none of them is not carried along.
“That’s where federal character came in, following Section 15 of the same constitution that also talks about ethnicity. There is no place where it talks about religion. Section 14 didn’t talk about religion. Section 15 didn’t talk about religion.”
On having a Christian as his deputy, Sule said that the State Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, had held the position throughout his tenure in Nasarawa State, adding: “I’ve always had a Christian as a deputy. In Nasarawa State, it has always been a Christian.”
Governor Sule, while commenting on the importance of having a Christian deputy, said the choice was based on competence rather than religious balancing, stressing that political arrangements varied from state to state depending on local realities.
Maintaining that the choice of Akabe was competence-based, Governor Sule said: “Our state is different from Nigeria. You cannot take a particular state out of context, especially in terms political realities which differ across states.
Specifically, he said states such as Enugu and Bayelsa already operate Christian-Christian leadership arrangements without controversy and their respective administrations are running seamlessly.
