The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, has maintained that President Bola Tinubu is fit to seek re-election in 2027, dismissing concerns about the President’s health.
Yilwatda stated this on Channels Television’s Politics on Monday.
He also cautioned against interpreting isolated criticism of Tinubu as evidence of widespread opposition to his administration.
Tinubu, who was elected in February 2023, secured 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 6,984,520 votes.
He was sworn in on May 29, 2023, and is seeking another four-year term in the 2027 election.
On the controversy surrounding the APC’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, Yilwatda said Christians engaged by the party were comfortable with the arrangement.
The ticket, which paired Tinubu with Kashim Shettima, also a Muslim, attracted criticism from some Christian groups and political stakeholders during the 2023 election campaign.
The criticism centred on concerns about religious representation and the exclusion of Christians from the two highest positions on the ticket.
On the President’s absence from some campaign rallies, the APC chairman said Tinubu had constitutional responsibilities that would not allow him to attend every political engagement.
He explained that some government officials had been encouraged to participate in selected rallies to ensure that official duties were not affected by campaign activities.
Yilwatda said Tinubu’s earlier decision not to attend every rally should not be viewed as a sign of weakness or an inability to lead the party’s re-election campaign.
The APC chairman also defended the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, rejecting claims that the arrangement had sidelined Christians under the current administration.
He said Christians consulted by the party had expressed satisfaction with the ticket, adding that their concerns about being excluded from government had not materialised.
