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JIBWIS leader defiantly says he has no regrets over backing a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, insisting the campaign will continue beyond Tinubu.
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Cleric rejects accusations of campaigning for President Tinubu, declaring he is promoting Islam and urging Muslims to consolidate their political strength.
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Fresh comments reopen one of Nigeria’s most explosive religious and political controversies ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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Babachir Lawal’s fierce 2022 opposition to the same-faith ticket resurfaces as the debate over religion and power returns to the national spotlight.
August 12, (THEWILL) — A fresh political and religious storm is sweeping across Nigeria after the Chairman of the Ulama Council of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Muhammad Jingir, defiantly declared that he has “no regrets” over championing a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, throwing down the gauntlet to critics and reigniting one of the country’s most divisive electoral controversies ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The outspoken Islamic cleric insisted that his advocacy for a same-faith presidency neither began nor would end with President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, declaring that he would continue urging Muslims to support Muslim candidates regardless of who occupies Aso Rock.
Jingir made the remarks in an interview with the BBC published on Wednesday, days after his comments at a Kano State Government-sponsored mass wedding ceremony for 1,500 couples ignited widespread criticism across political and religious circles.
During the event, the cleric urged Muslims to sustain the Muslim-Muslim political arrangement and vote in a manner that reflected what he described as their numerical strength, comments that immediately triggered fresh accusations of promoting religious politics.
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Rather than retreat in the face of the backlash, Jingir doubled down. He insisted that his position was rooted in Islamic teachings and had nothing to do with advancing President Tinubu’s political interests.
“I am not promoting Tinubu; I am promoting Islam. I am not promoting Tinubu’s Islam… so this is my profit”, he declared.
According to the cleric, any politician who shared his views on what he described as the challenges confronting Muslims in Nigeria deserved the support of Muslim voters.
He argued that Christians routinely encourage their members to vote for candidates they believe in and questioned why Muslims should be denied the same right.
“I have the freedom to say that Muslims should be elected, and to say that Islam should be practised”, he said.
Jingir rejected suggestions that his comments were capable of provoking religious tension, insisting he had merely exercised his constitutional right to express his convictions.
He explained that his support for a Muslim-Muslim ticket was anchored on the Islamic principle that “a Muslim is a brother to a Muslim” and vowed to continue preaching that position despite mounting criticism.
“If a person knows he is telling the truth, then he should not be silent about any slander and noise; he should keep repeating it. That is why I keep repeating it”, he said.
Showing no sign of backing down, the cleric dismissed the criticism with a blunt declaration:
“I don’t even care. This is what you have heard; that is my goal, and I have no regrets.”
Jingir maintained that he would continue defending what he regarded as good Muslim leadership irrespective of the individual occupying public office.
Background: A Controversy That Refuses To Die
Jingir’s renewed campaign has resurrected one of the fiercest debates of the 2023 presidential election.
When Tinubu selected Kashim Shettima as his running mate, the Muslim-Muslim ticket attracted widespread condemnation from Christian organisations, civil society groups and prominent northern politicians, who argued that it undermined Nigeria’s religious diversity and threatened national cohesion.
One of the strongest voices against the arrangement was former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal.
In a strongly worded statement issued on November 24, 2022, Lawal rejected the APC’s same-faith ticket and endorsed the Labour Party’s Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, describing the Muslim-Muslim ticket as a deliberate strategy capable of deepening religious divisions and eroding national unity.
Lawal argued that Nigeria’s fragile religious balance required inclusiveness at the highest level of leadership and warned against abandoning the country’s long-established political convention of balancing presidential tickets along religious lines.
Despite the fierce opposition, Tinubu and Shettima won the 2023 presidential election, becoming Nigeria’s first President and Vice-President of the same faith since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
More than three years later, Jingir’s defiant declaration that he has “no regrets” has reopened old wounds and revived one of Nigeria’s most polarising political arguments, setting the stage for another intense national debate over religion, representation and power as the countdown to the 2027 presidential election gathers momentum.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
