Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has rebuked Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir over his renewed advocacy for Muslim-Muslim political tickets, describing the remarks as “highly provocative” and warning against what he called extremist rhetoric.
Jingir had, at a political gathering attended by Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other All Progressives Congress governors, called on Muslims to support Muslim-Muslim candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The cleric also urged Muslims to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while asserting that Muslims outnumber Christians in Nigeria.
Praising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for championing the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election, Jingir declared that he remained a “staunch advocate” of the arrangement.
But Fani-Kayode, while acknowledging his respect for Jingir, cautioned against what he described as divisive rhetoric.
“I have immense respect for Sheik Jingir but I am constrained to point out that the extremist rhetoric he has indulged in here is most unhelpful and neither is it true,” Fani-Kayode said in a post on X on Sunday.
“Worse of all is the fact that it is highly provocative. Kindly take note that it is a very slippery and dangerous slope to take and is best avoided.”
Fani-Kayode rejected any attempt to portray Nigeria as belonging to one religious group, stressing that the country’s diversity should remain a source of strength rather than division.
“Nigeria is NOT a Muslim country and neither is she a Christian country. She is a SECULAR and MULTI-RELIGIOUS state comprising of BOTH Christians and Muslims in equal numbers and that is our strength,” he said.
The former minister further clarified that his support for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2027 was not based on religious considerations but on the credentials and political strength of the candidates.
“We are supporting a Muslim/Muslim ticket for 2027, as we did in 2023, only because of the calibre, ability, sincerity of purpose, character, utility and electoral strength of our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and their ability to deliver and not because they are Muslims,” he said.
Fani-Kayode also argued that Nigeria could, in future, have a Christian-Christian ticket, urging political actors and citizens to place national unity above religious considerations.
“We must not allow this issue to divide our ranks. We are NIGERIANS before being Christian or Muslim and we must not only stand as ONE but also go to the polls as ONE,” he said.
His comments came amid renewed debate over the religious composition of presidential tickets ahead of the 2027 elections, following Jingir’s call for Muslims to rally behind Muslim-Muslim candidates.
While some Nigerians criticised Jingir’s remarks as divisive, others defended his right to advocate for a political arrangement they believe reflects the interests of Muslims, particularly in northern Nigeria.
