Ex-Kaduna governor says APC’s 2023 strategy was purely political, not religious
LagosExplorer reports: Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has stirred a fresh wave of political debate after bluntly declaring that the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election was nothing more than a calculated strategy to secure victory, not a matter of faith. Speaking during a no-holds-barred interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai dismissed the notion that religion was a driving force behind the controversial pairing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
According to him, politics is about strategy, and winning elections requires deliberate choices that transcend religious sentiments. “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 said.
The former governor also waved aside fears that Christians were marginalised by the decision, insisting that Nigerians must stop speculating on religious fault lines. He argued that no serious leader would restrict appointments or governance to one faith, adding that inclusivity was the only path to sustainable success. “So long as we continue to speculate on these issues, we will not solve them. We have done a Muslim-Muslim ticket now. Tell me in what way Christians are now short-changed; nothing. No leader who wants to succeed will limit his choice of appointees to a particular religion or ethnicity,” he stressed.
Recalling his own political experience, El-Rufai pointed to his administration in Kaduna State where he adopted a similar formula. He challenged critics to name any Christian who was denied fair opportunities under his leadership. “If you want to succeed, you have to diversify. Now we have cured the fear and the love for the Muslim-Muslim ticket. It has been done, buried, and gone. I did a Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna; I want to know which Christian in Kaduna was short-changed because of it,” he queried.
His remarks reignite conversations around religion, politics, and Nigeria’s fragile unity, particularly as debates continue on whether the ruling APC can truly balance governance with the sensitivities of a multi-religious nation.