My support for muslim-muslim ticket was political not religious —El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has explained that his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election was driven by political strategy rather than religion.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai said the choice of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as running mates was a calculated move aimed solely at securing victory at the polls.

“It was a political strategy; it was a strategy to win the election.

“It was not a religious strategy.

“When you are contesting an election, you look at every variable, every index, every criterion that will help you win.

“It has nothing to do with religion,” he stated.

The former FCT minister argued that concerns about marginalization were misplaced, pointing to his own experience in Kaduna, where he also ran with a Muslim deputy.

“We have done a Muslim-Muslim ticket now.

“Tell me, in what way are Christians short-changed? None.

“No leader that wants to succeed will limit appointments to a particular religion or ethnicity. If you want to succeed, you must diversify,” he said.

El-Rufai maintained that the controversy over the ticket has been laid to rest, adding: “We have cured the fear and the love for the Muslim-Muslim ticket. It has been done, buried, and gone.

“I did it in Kaduna; no Christian was short-changed because of it.”

The APC’s decision to field Tinubu, a Muslim from the South-West, alongside Shettima, a Muslim from the North-East, sparked heated debate in the run-up to the election, drawing strong opposition from groups such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), who described it as insensitive and divisive.

Despite the criticism, Tinubu won the February 2023 presidential poll with 8.79 million votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (6.98 million) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (6.1 million).

His victory, upheld by the courts, led to his swearing-in on May 29, 2023, as Nigeria’s 16th president.