APC Nat’l Chairman Urged to Repudiate Cleric’s Remarks

• Open Letter Says Ruling Party Must Distance Itself from Sheikh Jingir to Protect Broadened National Coalition

Our Reporter

The All Progressives Congress has been urged to publicly distance itself from recent comments by Islamic cleric Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, with party leaders warned that sectarian rhetoric could undermine the APC’s efforts to broaden its national appeal ahead of the 2027 elections.

In an open letter, a veteran journalist and political commentator Jonathan Ishaku called on APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, to issue a clear statement rejecting any attempt to turn the next presidential contest into a religious confrontation.

“The issue is no longer merely what one cleric said at one gathering. It is about the kind of political culture Nigeria wants to carry into the 2027 general elections,” Ishaku wrote.

Ishaku said the APC should declare that no Nigerian should be “demeaned, politically disadvantaged or treated as a lesser citizen because of his or her religion,” and that the party “does not endorse rhetoric that contradicts these principles.”

He argued such a statement would reassure both Christians and moderate Muslims, strengthen the credibility of Yilwatda’s own message on tolerance, and deny extremists the chance to define 2027 along religious lines.

The letter does not quote Jingir directly but describes his intervention at a mass wedding ceremony in Kano as belonging to “another political era when religious mobilization could be employed as electoral leverage.”

The appeal comes as the APC seeks to reposition itself after the controversy of its Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2023.

Ishaku noted that under Yilwatda’s leadership, the party has attracted governors, legislators and other political figures from opposition parties, expanding its reach beyond the religious and regional calculations that dominated 2023. He described the current moment as a “post-hegemonic” shift in Nigerian politics, where power should rest on “persuasion, performance, coalition-building and the freely expressed consent of citizens, not inherited entitlement.”

Ishaku referenced the Tinubu administration’s removal of fuel subsidies, forex reforms and fiscal restructuring, which the IMF in June 2026 said had produced “improved macroeconomic outcomes and greater resilience” with projected growth of about 4.1% for 2026, despite continued poverty and food insecurity.

He also noted recent military successes, including the rescue of more than 300 hostages around Kainji Lake National Park and 33 abducted travellers in Zamfara, while warning that “terrorism, banditry and sectarian violence flourish where identity is weaponized.”

Ishaku drew heavily on Yilwatda’s address on August 11 at a JIBWIS and Muslim World League conference in Abuja themed “Diversity and Social Peace: A Partnership for a Promising Future.”

At that event, the APC chairman, a Christian from Plateau State, spoke of growing up in Yobe as the son of a pastor and witnessing friendship between his father and a local Imam.

He asked: “When did being Christian or Muslim become more important than being Nigerian?” and said political leaders “must never weaponize religion or ethnicity for temporary political advantage.”

“That principle cannot apply only to politicians. It must equally apply to influential clerics,” Ishaku wrote.

The letter urged the APC to campaign in 2027 on record rather than religion, asking Nigerians to judge the Tinubu administration on macroeconomic management, investment, security and political inclusion.

“Once performance becomes the argument, religion loses its usefulness as an electoral weapon,” Ishaku stated.

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