Tinubu-Shettima Ticket Created to Defraud Nigerians, Says Adebayo

Prince Adewole Adebayo, the presidential candidate for Nigeria's Social Democratic Party (SDP), has strongly criticized the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 presidential election. Adebayo described the ticket, featuring President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, as a political strategy designed to exploit religious sentiments and defraud Nigerians.

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There is nothing like the Muslim-Muslim ticket. Even when the contraption was brought up four years ago and I was in Kano, I was asked the same question while meeting with the Ulamas.

Speaking on Arise Television's Morning Show, Adebayo asserted that Nigerians are not focused on religious considerations for the 2027 presidential election. Instead, he stated, they seek a competent, just, and capable leader to address the nation's challenges. He characterized the Tinubu-Shettima ticket as a "zero-zero ticket," explaining that from the perspective of many Muslims, it has not delivered the expected benefits associated with the candidates' religious identity. He emphasized that Islamic jurisprudence prioritizes justice and competence in leadership over religious affiliation.

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If you are hoping for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima, you will be lucky to even have a single Muslim out of the two.

Adebayo further elaborated that the core reason for Muslim involvement in politics is to foster a just society and ensure public responsibilities are entrusted to capable individuals. He cited Islamic guidelines that caution against appointing unfit individuals to public office. "The whole concept from the beginning was just to defraud the populace by using religious sentiment," Adebayo claimed. "What the North and all Nigerians are looking for is a righteous leader, no matter the person."

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It turned out now that it’s not a Muslim-Muslim ticket. From the point of view of Muslims in Nigeria, it is a zero-zero ticket because in Islam, what is expected of a leader in Islamic jurisprudence is not the religion of that leader but justice.

The SDP candidate also criticized the current APC administration, pointing to the hardships Nigerians face despite the religious composition of the leadership. He referenced former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, a proponent of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, noting that El-Rufai and his family have also recently sought justice. Adebayo concluded that the pursuit of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, especially when justice is absent, is misguided.

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The whole concept from the beginning was just to defraud the populace by using religious sentiment.