Former commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Niger State, Jonathan Vatsa, has warned that any attempt by the party to come up with the idea of Muslims-Muslim ticket will likely spell doom for it in 2027.
Speaking to newsmen in Minna ahead of the party national convention, yesterday, the former publicity secretary of the party in the state said the political arithmetics and the current political atmosphere in the country strongly point to the fact that the 2023 Muslim-Muslim ticket can no longer deliver the party. “If that experiment worked in 2023, it will no longer work in 2027. The opposition will capitalise on that to create upset like we did to PDP in 2015.”
Vatsa argued that despite the array of defectors into the ruling party, it cannot change the mindset of the people if the party sticks to the 2023 Muslim-Muslim arrangement, pointing out that “Nigerians might not subscribe to this arrangement this time around.”
He believed that the Muslim population in the north no longer fancy the arrangement as it has not translated to any meaningful change in their daily lives and, therefore, would be counterproductive to go into the 2027 general election with the same arrangement.
“As I speak right now, majority of Nigerians, especially our Muslim brothers from the north, no longer believe in the Muslim-Muslim ticket. The outcome of that arrangement did not change anything in their lives.
“To be sincere with you, the north believed that they are the victims of Tinubu’s leadership. That is the general perception in the north where we got our votes from in 2023.
“If the party decides to go ahead with the Muslim-Muslim ticket, I am afraid it might spell doom. Let us not be deceived by the ongoing mass defection by governors and National Assembly members, it will not deliver the party.
“Majority of the defectors are only looking for a platform to contest the 2027 elections, not that they are ready to work for the party the way some of us put our lives on the line and work for its emergence in 2015.
“If you like, let all the 36 states governors defect to APC, that does not guarantee you winning the election. It is also not an assurance that you can successfully rig an election. No.
“Experience has shown that if the people are not with you, there is no way you can rig an election. The governors and the National Assembly members cannot go to the polling units to rig elections for you, they need the support of the people. You must be popular among the people to be able to get their support.
“I’m not talking about the presidency alone, even at the state levels, the party should not take the people for granted because the opposition parties might take advantage of our wrong calculations.
“The outcome of the party national convention and the primaries that will follow will be another litmus test for the peaceful co-existence in the party. The ability to manage the post convention and party primaries crisis will determine the success of the party.”
Vatsa, who belongs to the defunct ACN bloc that formed alliance with CPC and ANPP to give birth to the APC also warned the party to be vigilant over the mass defection into the party, stressing that “when the boat is overloaded, it might capsize.
“So far, the ward, local government and state congresses have been successful and I pray too that the national convention will be rancour-free but we must be vigilant. We must watch closely the activities of the defectors. We must learn a lesson from the mistakes of some political parties that could not manage their success. We must try hard to avoid anything that will lead to fragmentation in the party; if not, our situation will be worse than what some political parties are going through at the moment,” he warned