Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to President Bola Tinubu in the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima, has hinted that Northern Nigeria will not fall for Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2027 presidential election.
Baba-Ahmed declared that the North is set to assert its political direction in the 2027 general election.
The former special adviser, who spoke during an interview session with Channels TV, argued that the North will no longer be swayed by Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, which paired the President with Shettima, both Muslims, in the 2023 election.
According to Baba-Ahmed, Northern voters are increasingly prioritizing governance performance over religious or ethnic affiliations.
He added that Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket is a political strategy aimed at consolidating support in Nigeria’s Southwest and parts of the North at the expense of the Christian community and minority groups based in the north.
He asserted: “What I can tell you is that substantially, a huge part of the North that voted for Peter Obi did so on an ethno-religious basis. Tinubu came up with Muslim-Muslim ticket, and the northern Christians went crazy. And they said, ‘Okay, so we will have our candidate.”
“And they did, 6 million people voted for Obi. A huge part of that came from the north. And it’s mostly about “we cannot have a ticket that has two Muslims on it.”
“So, I think that now the North is a little bit more sensitive to that. We’re sensitive to attempts to divide us, to introduce ethno-religious politics, just simply to carve out some parts for someone and leave out some parts.
“What I’m saying is I think the northern voters are a little bit wiser now. We’re not likely to be as gullible to a northern Muslim-Muslim ticket as we were in 2023.”
Baba-Ahmed, a northern oligarch also cautioned the president against seeking a second term.
He stated Tinubu should instead support a younger presidential candidate in 2027.
He continued: “If I had met with President Tinubu, I would have told him not to run in 2027 and to back a younger candidate.
“There are better things he could do than being the president, he could spend the next two years of his life doing the things he ought to do that he hasn’t done yet or improving on what he has done.
“Then, like I said in my letter, look for a younger person who is more energetic, healthier, more focused, and more committed to the future of this country.
“From your party, find the kind of people who feel the pains of what Nigeria is today, the kind of people whose children are just growing up and they can look at them and say ‘what will happen to my child or grandchild in the next 20 years?’
“There are a lot of patriotic and desperate Nigerians who want to be part of the future of this country, test them with power because you have done your bit. You don’t need to run for another one.
“Spend the next two years fixing Nigeria, fix the economy, and security.”
