No Religious Body Can Stop Tinubu’s 2027 Return, Arewa Think Tank Tells Christian Elders

The group’s Convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, described the NCEF’s position in a statement on Saturday as an attempt to politicise religion and intimidate the President. He maintained that only the Nigerian electorate holds the constitutional right to determine who occupies the nation’s highest office.

“No religious group can pressure, determine or dictate what Nigerians want. No pressure group can intimidate Mr. President out of contesting the 2027 presidential election,” Yakubu said. “If it is God’s will and Nigerians decide to re-elect President Tinubu, no amount of religious or political pressure can stop that.”

Yakubu challenged clerics sympathetic to particular candidates to declare their positions openly rather than shield partisan interests behind national commentary. “If these clerics are campaigning for a particular candidate, they should come out openly and say so,” he said. “They shouldn’t hide under the state of the nation to campaign for anybody because they will lose their respect and integrity.”

He urged religious leaders to steer clear of actions capable of inflaming political and religious tensions, warning that the pulpit should not be converted into a political platform.

“Our respected clerics should not derobe themselves of the honour and respect they command by playing to the gallery and unnecessarily heating up the political atmosphere,” Yakubu stated. “If anyone wishes to actively participate in partisan politics, they should take off the clerical robe and join politics openly. Constructive advice is more effective when offered privately rather than through public political campaigns.”

The Convener further argued that any fair assessment of the Tinubu administration must take into account the enormous structural challenges the government inherited over several decades.