Politics

Muslim/Muslim ticket unacceptable, says CAN, NSCIA differs

Published

4 years ago

January 5, 2022

CAN President, Supo Ayokunle and President NSCIA, Muhammadu Abubakar III

The Christian Association of Nigeria has warned that two Muslims running on a joint presidential ticket in 2023 will not be accepted and can lead to the country’s collapse.

However, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar III, says the most important thing should be competence and that is what Muslims are praying for.

The Director-General of the Tinubu Support Group, Abdulmumin Jibrin, said on Monday that it did not matter if Tinubu picked a Muslim as his running mate, adding that Nigerians would choose competence over ethnic and religious considerations.

Jibrin argued that currently in the House of Representatives, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, are both Muslims while in the 6th and 7th Senate, Senator David Mark and Ike Ekweremadu who are both Christians, were Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.

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In his recently published book, a former interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Bisi Akande, also claimed that Tinubu was supposed to be the running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in 2007 even though both Buhari and Atiku are Muslims just like Tinubu. Akande had argued that the South-West does not consider religion during elections.

Speaking with The PUNCH on Tuesday, however, the Spokesman for the CAN President, Rev. Bayo Oladeji, said having a Muslim/Muslim ticket would set the country on fire. Oladeji also argued that CAN would not support two Christians running on a joint ticket in 2023.

He said the June 12, 1993 election wherein MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party ran alongside Babagana Kingibe on a joint Muslim ticket, could never be replicated in 2023.

Oladeji stated, “Politicians can talk politics but we have stated our view. Any party that tries Muslim/Muslim ticket or Christian/Christian ticket will fail. This is not 1993. Even when we have joint Muslim/Christians, the church still goes through hell. Only God knows the number of Christians that have been killed.

“Imagine how bad it will be if we have two Muslims in power? The constitution promotes religious balance. So, if they want to try Muslim/Muslim ticket, let them try it. But we will not respond to faceless people. Let any political party or the government try it then they will know that Christians are not second hand citizens of Nigeria.

“This country belongs to all of us. If they try it, they will see it. Those who are planning Muslim/Muslim ticket should also find out what was the outcome of MKO Abiola and Kingibe ticket. If they try Muslim/Muslim ticket this time around, the outcome will be worse.”

But the NSCIA, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, says Muslims believe that all power belongs to God and only those who God supports can emerge as winners of any election.

When asked if the NSCIA saw anything wrong in a joint Muslim Presidential ticket, the Director of Administration, NSCIA, Zubairu Ugwu, told The PUNCH that while the council would continue to advocate for peace in the country, Muslims would pray to God to grant that only Nigerians who possessed the requisite capacity would eventually triumph at both their respective party primaries and subsequent general elections, at all tiers of government in Nigeria.

He said, “Consequently, both the NSCIA and the Muslim Ummah of Nigeria who, in thought and practice, draw instructions from the Holy Qur’an, have absolute trust that Almighty Allah has limitless capacity, to bring to power or deny power, in line with the above Qur’anic injunction, to whomsoever He wills.

“As Muslims, therefore, we have no choice but to continue to supplicate to Allah to grant that only Nigerians who possess the requisite capacity, integrity, sagacity, empathy, positive attitude, passion, administrative acumen, zeal for selfless service, etc., shall eventually triumph at both their respective party primaries and subsequent general elections, at all tiers of government in Nigeria.”

He said the NSCIA would continue to lend its voice to calls for all Nigerians, including political, religious, traditional and civil society organisations, to eschew religious politics and politicisation of religion, subtly or manifestly, in Nigeria, to avoid the dire consequences”

Punch

Related Topics:CAN Featured Muslim-Muslim NSCIA ticket

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Politics

NANS Declares National Protest Against Implementation of Tax Reform Law

Published

4 hours ago

December 31, 2025

Trends Admin

NANS Declares National Protest Against Implementation of Tax Reform Law

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has announced plans to mobilize students nationwide to protest against the implementation of the Tax Reform Law, citing unresolved issues in the gazetted law and lack of proper engagement by the government.

In a statement released on Tuesday, NANS National President, Comrade Olushola Oladoja, faulted the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for proceeding with the law’s implementation from January 1, 2026, despite lingering concerns about its provisions.

“The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) expresses its profound disappointment and total lack of confidence in the fiscal and economic advisers surrounding President Bola Tinubu, whose misguided counsel has pushed the administration toward an avoidable national confrontation over the controversial Tax Reform Law,” Oladoja said.

NANS accused FIRS and the Presidency of failing to engage stakeholders and the public in meaningful consultations, calling the decision to implement the law without widespread consensus “undemocratic and dangerous.”

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“Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a dictatorship. No policy, no matter how well-intentioned, can be forcefully implemented without the consent of the majority,” Oladoja said. He warned that the law, as currently implemented, could have painful economic consequences for many Nigerians.

The student body also highlighted that civil society organizations, youth groups, and student bodies have expressed strong reservations about the law, urging the government to suspend its implementation until issues regarding constitutional integrity, transparency, and public awareness are fully addressed.

As part of its response, NANS has declared Tuesday, January 14, 2026, as a National Day of Action, calling on students from all campus chapters, state zonal coordinators, and national secretariats to converge at Unity Fountain, Abuja, for a peaceful mass protest and march to the Presidential Villa.

“Our demands remain clear, non-negotiable, and just: Immediate suspension of the implementation of the otherwise beautiful but deeply controversial Tax Reform Law,” Oladoja said. He stressed that NANS will continue to pursue peaceful engagement, democracy, and national development, but will resist any attempt to impose policies without transparency, consent, and constitutional compliance.

NANS Declares National Protest Against Implementation of Tax Reform Law

Politics

Labour Party Reacts to Peter Obi’s Defection to ADC, Calls 2023 Candidacy ‘Mistake’

Published

4 hours ago

December 31, 2025

Trends Admin

Labour Party Reacts to Peter Obi’s Defection to ADC, Calls 2023 Candidacy ‘Mistake’

The Labour Party (LP) has reacted to the defection of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, along with some of his supporters, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing the move as a long-awaited development that “liberates” the party.

Obi, the former Anambra State governor, and some of his allies, including serving federal lawmakers, officially joined the ADC on Wednesday during a ceremony held in Enugu State. In response, the Labour Party mocked Obi’s speech, describing it as “lacklustre” and questioning what new vision he intends to offer Nigerians.

According to a statement signed by the national publicity secretary of the Julius Abure faction, Obiora Ifoh, the party said Obi had lost the “charm that had endeared him to the people prior to 2023” and apologized to Nigerians for fielding “an unfitting presidential candidate” in the last election.

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“We have since September 2024 parted ways with Peter Obi and some of his blind supporters in the National Assembly. We have patiently waited for this day,” the statement said, adding that Obi’s defection is considered a blessing for the party.

The statement also blamed Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti for the internal crisis within the Labour Party, accusing them of sponsoring an insurrection against the Julius Abure leadership. The party further claimed that the Enugu event was largely boycotted by prominent political and traditional institutions in the South East.

Labour Party leaders criticized Obi’s past performance, citing the South East’s marginalization in President Ahmed Tinubu’s government, including limited ministerial appointments and infrastructure allocation.

“He must be told that the South East lost out completely in the Tinubu government because they trusted him in 2023,” the statement said.

The party urged Nigerians to remain attentive, promising to present a strong presidential candidate capable of restoring the nation to its “glorious days.”

Labour Party Reacts to Peter Obi’s Defection to ADC, Calls 2023 Candidacy ‘Mistake’

Politics

Peter Obi Directs Labour Party Members to Register with ADC Ahead of 2027

Published

5 hours ago

December 31, 2025

Trends Admin

Peter Obi

Peter Obi Directs Labour Party Members to Register with ADC Ahead of 2027

The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has directed all Labour Party members and supporters in Imo State to immediately register with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following his formal alignment with the opposition coalition.

The directive was conveyed in a statement signed on Wednesday in Owerri by the Imo State Labour Party Acting Chairman, Chief Innocent NwaDavid.

According to the statement, the instruction aligns with Peter Obi’s decision to declare for the ADC, describing the party as the political platform he will use to pursue his presidential ambition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The statement urged zonal chairmen, local government and ward chairmen, as well as members of the Labour Party and Obedient Movement who believe in Obi’s leadership, to follow suit by registering with the ADC.

“All Zonal Chairmen, LGA and Ward Chairmen, and Labour Party/Obedients members that believe in His Excellency Peter Obi are to follow suit by registering with the ADC,” the statement said.

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“This is the political vehicle he will use to actualise his presidential ambition.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Peter Obi, alongside other prominent political leaders from the South-East geopolitical zone, formally declared for the African Democratic Congress, marking a major shift in the opposition’s political landscape.

Speaking at the declaration event, Obi described the move as the beginning of a collective effort to rescue Nigeria from poor governance, particularly under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Today is an important day; today is the last day of 2025. We are ending this year with the hope that, in 2026, we will begin a journey to rescue our country for proper socio-economic development that will be unifying and inclusive,” Obi said.

He further accused beneficiaries of Nigeria’s democracy of undermining the system through coercion and political intimidation, vowing that the opposition coalition would resist such actions.

“We have watched those who benefited from our democracy become accessories to destroying it. We cannot allow this to continue, and we will resist it,” he added.