Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has said he believes Nigeria will eventually elect a president and vice-president on a Christian-Christian ticket, arguing that the country’s Constitution does not mandate religious balancing in political leadership.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Sule defended the principle that competence and constitutional provisions, rather than religious considerations, should determine political appointments and electoral alliances. His remarks came in response to criticism from Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso over issues surrounding political representation.
Dismissing the criticism as part of the dynamics of opposition politics, the governor said it was unsurprising that Kwankwaso had chosen to challenge the current administration’s political choices.
“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,” Sule said.
The governor maintained that the debate over religious representation often overlooks the provisions of the 1999 Constitution. According to him, the Constitution emphasises inclusiveness through the principles of federal character and equitable representation but does not explicitly require political offices or election tickets to reflect religious diversity.
He specifically referenced Sections 14(3) and 15 of the Constitution, arguing that while they address issues of ethnicity and national inclusion, they make no provision for balancing political offices along religious lines.
“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.
To support his position, Sule pointed to the electoral victories of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima in 2023, as well as the historic Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in the 1993 election. In his view, both cases demonstrate that Nigerian voters can look beyond religious considerations when making political choices.
“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,” the governor stated.
Despite his defence of the constitutional argument, Sule emphasised that his own administration in Nasarawa has retained a Christian deputy governor, Emmanuel Akabe, because of his qualifications and effectiveness in office rather than his religious affiliation.
“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.
The governor further noted that political realities vary across the country, citing states such as Enugu and Bayelsa, where Christian-Christian leadership arrangements have operated without attracting significant controversy.
Sule’s comments are likely to reignite discussions about the role of religion in Nigerian politics, particularly as parties and political actors begin positioning themselves ahead of future elections.
