Why Tinubu lost Lagos in 2023 election – Obanikoro
A former Minister of
State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has revealed why President Bola Tinubu
was defeated in Lagos State during the2023 presidential
election.
Obanikoro revealed that
the defeat was caused by concerns over the All Progressives Congress’
Muslim-Muslim ticket, not Labour Party candidate Peter Obi.
He made the claim
during an interview on Mic On, a podcast hosted by Channels Television
journalist Seun Okinbaloye, which was posted online on Sunday.
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According to him, many
voters were apprehensive about what a Muslim-Muslim presidency would mean for
Christians, a perception he said ultimately worked
against Tinubu in
Lagos.
“Let me tell you, what
defeated us in Lagos was the Muslim-Muslim ticket, not Peter Obi. People were
afraid because they didn’t know what Tinubu’s presidency
will look like.
“People thought it was
a situation where the Christian in Nigeria would be relegated, and that has
been defeated because Tinubu is a Muslim, but he is
not a religious bigot
that will carry one religion over another.
“His wife is a pastor.
His son, Seyi is a Christian. He was born a Muslim. He became a Christian. Most
of the people in his cabinet are Christians,” he
said.
The Muslim-Muslim
ticket adopted by the APC ahead of the 2023 presidential election generated
widespread debate after Tinubu picked former Borno State
Governor Kashim
Shettima, also a Muslim, as his running mate.
While the APC defended
the decision as being based on competence and electoral strategy, critics
argued it failed to reflect Nigeria’s religious diversity.
In the February 25,
2023 presidential election, Tinubu suffered a surprise defeat in Lagos, his
political stronghold, losing to Labour Party candidate
Peter Obi, marking the
first time the former Lagos governor lost a presidential election in the state
widely regarded as his political base.
Despite the Lagos
result, Tinubu went on to win the presidential election nationwide and was
sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29, 2023.
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