A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has said Christians are now more accepting of the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket than they were ahead of the 2023 general election.

Aliyu made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance on The Morning Show on ARISE Television while defending President Bola Tinubu’s decision to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

According to him, President Tinubu chose to maintain the same ticket that secured victory in the 2023 election, adding that concerns previously expressed over possible religious marginalisation have not materialised.

He said the APC’s decision to field two Muslim candidates in the last presidential election attracted widespread criticism, with many expressing fears that Christians could be excluded from key positions in government.

Aliyu, however, maintained that the administration has demonstrated that no religious group is being marginalised, arguing that this has increased public confidence in the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

He expressed the view that Christians across the country are now significantly more comfortable with the arrangement than they were when it was first introduced ahead of the 2023 polls.