I have no regrets, Islamic cleric defends Muslim-Muslim ticket stance

The Chairman of the Ulama Council of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’ikamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Muhammad Jingir, has said he has no regret over his advocacy for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, insisting that he has held the position long before President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Jingir stated this in an interview with the BBC published on Wednesday amid criticism of his recent comments.

The cleric had, during a special wedding reception organised by the Kano State Government for 1,500 couples whose weddings it sponsored, called for the continued adoption of Muslim-Muslim arrangement and urged Muslims to vote in a manner that would demonstrate they are more populous.

Clarifying his position, Jingir said his support for a Muslim-Muslim ticket was not limited to President Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, adding that he expected criticism over his comments.

He said any politician who shared his views on the “difficulties faced by Muslims” in Nigeria would support his position.

“I am not promoting Tinubu, I am promoting Islam… I am not promoting Tinubu’s Islam… so this is my profit,” he said.

The cleric said he saw no reason why Nigerian Christians should not encourage their followers to vote for candidates they believed in, adding that he also had the right to advise Muslims on how to exercise their voting rights.

Jingir said his comments would not provoke anyone, arguing that he had merely advised people on what he believed was right and that everyone was entitled to an opinion.

“I have the freedom to say that Muslims should be elected, and to say that Islam should be practiced,” he said.

He said his position on the Muslim-Muslim ticket was based on the religious principle that “a Muslim is a brother to a Muslim”.

The cleric said he had evidence to support his position and believed he should continue to speak about it.

“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.

Jingir said he knew his position would attract criticism but was unconcerned about the reaction.

“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.

The cleric said he was defending what he considered a good Muslim leader, regardless of who was in power.

Jingir’s comments have generated reactions, including from the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yanusa Tanko and Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to South Africa,Femi Fani Kayode

Jingir was among prominent Islamic scholars who supported Tinubu’s presidential bid ahead of the 2023 election after he selected Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.

The 2023 election produced Nigeria’s first president and vice-president of the same faith since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999.

The arrangement has continued to generate debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.