From Mustapha Adamu, Kano
The National Chairman of the Council of Ulama and Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’ah Wa’Ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, has reaffirmed his support for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Jingir said he stood by his recent comments urging Muslims to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and support Muslim-Muslim candidates, describing the position as his personal conviction.
The cleric made the clarification while addressing journalists in Kano on Tuesday following controversy generated by his remarks at a reception held for the mass wedding of 1,500 couples organised by the Kano State Government.
At the event on Saturday, Jingir had urged Muslims to obtain their PVCs and vote for Muslim-Muslim candidates, saying the move would demonstrate the numerical strength of Muslims in the country.
Speaking on the controversy, Jingir said his position was based on his personal religious and political conviction and did not represent the official position of JIBWIS or other Muslim organisations.
> “As a Muslim, it is religiously duty-bound in me to support Muslim-Muslim ticket. I even pray to die on this principle because I believe I died on the right path,” he said.
Jingir said he supported the Muslim-Muslim ticket during the 2023 presidential election, which produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and maintained that he would continue to advocate the same position ahead of the 2027 election.
“This is my stand in 2023 and the Christians rejected it. The Muslim-Muslim ticket eventually emerged victorious because we, the Muslims, outnumbered the Christians.
“This time around, I restated my Muslim-Muslim campaign. Then the controversy followed. Let me state that I still stand on my Muslim-Muslim ticket comments,” he said.
The cleric added that his position was informed by what he described as the principles of justice and equity, which he said he associated with Islam.
Jingir: I am not against Christians
Jingir, however, denied being opposed to Christians, stressing that he had previously encouraged Muslims to support Christian candidates in areas where Muslims were in the minority.
He cited Benue State as an example, saying he had campaigned for a Christian candidate, whom he identified as a pastor, during the 2023 election.
“I campaigned for a Christian candidate, a pastor in Benue State, because Muslims are the minority there.
“I asked Muslims to vote for him because I believed he would not turn violent against us. I urged the Christians to vote for Muslims, especially where they are the majority,” he said.
Jingir argued that Christians had previously supported Christian-Christian political arrangements without attracting similar criticism from Muslims.
He maintained that every citizen had the constitutional right to support a candidate of their choice and stressed that he would not compel anyone to vote for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
According to him, his responsibility as a religious leader was to advise members of the Muslim community on candidates he believed would protect their interests.
“I call on Muslim communities not to waste our votes on a bad candidate that might have a motive to kill us. We should cast our votes for a candidate that means well to us,” he said.
The cleric also said Muslims should consider supporting Christian candidates in areas where Christians constitute the majority, provided such candidates could guarantee justice and fairness.
He cited his previous support for former Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong as an example, saying he encouraged Muslims to vote for Lalong because Muslims were not the majority in the state at the time.
“This is the reason why I supported Simon Lalong and asked Muslims to vote for him because there was no Muslim majority to contest and he assured us that he would do justice to us,” Jingir said.
He reiterated that his position on the 2027 Muslim-Muslim ticket was personal and should not be interpreted as the official position of JIBWIS.
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