Islamic cleric and Chairman of the Ulama Council of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’ikamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Muhammad Jingir, has maintained that he has no regrets over his support for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
The Punch reported that Jingir made the position known in an interview with the BBC published on Wednesday, amid criticism of his recent comments advocating the continued adoption of a Muslim-Muslim arrangement in Nigeria.
The cleric had spoken at a special wedding reception organised by the Kano State Government for 1,500 couples whose marriages it sponsored.
He urged Muslims to continue supporting a Muslim-Muslim ticket and vote in a manner that would reflect their population.
Explaining his stance, Jingir said his advocacy was not specifically directed at President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, noting that he had held the position before the current administration came into power.
“I am not promoting Tinubu, I am promoting Islam… I am not promoting Tinubu’s Islam… so this is my profit,” he said.
Jingir argued that politicians who shared his concerns about what he described as the “difficulties faced by Muslims” in Nigeria would support his position.
He also said Christians had the right to encourage their followers to vote for candidates they believed in, adding that he equally had the right to advise Muslims on how to exercise their voting rights.
“I have the freedom to say that Muslims should be elected, and to say that Islam should be practiced,” he said.
According to the cleric, his support for a Muslim-Muslim ticket was rooted in the Islamic principle that “a Muslim is a brother to a Muslim”.
Jingir said he had evidence to back his position and would continue speaking about it despite 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.
The cleric acknowledged that his comments would attract criticism but said he was not bothered by the reactions.
“I don’t even care,” he said.
“This is what you have heard, that is my goal, and I have no regrets, and there is no starting date…calling on Islam,” he added.
Jingir maintained that his position was based on his desire to defend what he considered a good Muslim leader, irrespective of the person occupying political office.
His latest remarks have drawn reactions from several Nigerians, including National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, and Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode.
Jingir was among the prominent Islamic scholars who backed Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election after the then-presidential candidate selected Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
The ticket resulted in Nigeria having its first Muslim president and Muslim vice-president since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
The Muslim-Muslim presidential arrangement remains a contentious issue as political parties and aspirants prepare for the 2027 presidential election.
