Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has expressed confidence that Nigeria will eventually elect a president and vice-president on a Christian-Christian ticket, insisting that the country’s Constitution does not require religious balancing in political appointments or electoral tickets.
Sule stated this on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today while responding to criticism by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, over issues of political representation.
The governor dismissed the criticism as a normal feature of opposition politics.
“I think it is normal for Senator Kwankwaso, whom I respect a lot, to say that because he’s opposition. He cannot say anything good. It is expected of him to say that,” he said.
Sule argued that the 1999 Constitution focuses on inclusiveness and federal character rather than religion.
According to him, Sections 14(3) and 15 of the Constitution address equitable representation and ethnicity, but make no provision for religious balancing.
“There is no place where it talks about religion. Section 14 didn’t talk about religion. Section 15 did not talk about religion,” he said.
The governor cited the victories of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima in 2023, as well as the late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe’s presidential ticket in 1993, as examples of successful Muslim-Muslim tickets.
“You can see both elections have been clear that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has won. I pray that one day Nigeria will have a Christian-Christian ticket, and it will win; that’s what I pray to see,” Sule said.
He, however, stressed that his decision to retain Emmanuel Akabe, a Christian, as deputy governor was based on competence rather than religion.
“I have always had a Christian as a deputy, Emmanuel Akabe. We thought it was important because Emmanuel Akabe is competent and our state is different from Nigeria,” he said.
Sule added that political realities differ across states, noting that states such as Enugu and Bayelsa already operate Christian-Christian leadership without controversy.
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