The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, says most Christians consulted by the ruling party are comfortable with President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s Muslim-Muslim ticket ahead of the 2027 general election.
Yilwatda said Christians’ initial concerns that the arrangement would sideline them had not materialised, adding that the Tinubu administration had continued to represent their interests.
He made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
“Most Christians that we’ve engaged and spoken to are very okay with the Muslim-Muslim ticket,” he said.
“The thought and fear of most Christians was that the Muslim-Muslim ticket might suppress their voices, but their voices are heard loud and clear now.”
Yilwatda also rejected concerns that the religious composition of the presidency had led to discrimination against or persecution of Christians since Tinubu took office.
On Tinubu’s health and eligibility to seek another term in 2027, the APC chairman said the President was physically capable of contesting the election.
He also defended Tinubu’s absence from some political rallies, saying the President’s constitutional responsibilities meant he could not attend every campaign event. Some government officials, he added, had been advised to attend selected rallies to ensure political activities did not disrupt governance.
On the leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress, Yilwatda denied that the APC was responsible for the dispute following a Federal High Court judgment invalidating the party’s David Mark-led leadership.
He questioned why the ADC was blaming the ruling party for an internal dispute that followed legal action brought by one of its members.
Yilwatda also expressed confidence that Tinubu would defeat former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election. He argued that Atiku’s performance in the 2023 election had been largely driven by the Peoples Democratic Party’s structure.
“He did not win because of Atiku; he won because of the structure of the PDP. It was the PDP that brought Atiku, not Atiku winning on his own,” he said.
The APC chairman also defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over his proposed ₦10 million reward for local government councils whose wards deliver votes for Tinubu in 2027, arguing that the incentive should not be considered vote-buying.
