We only chose Muslim/Muslim ticket as a political strategy to win election – Remi Tinubu

First Lady Remi Tinubu has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to contest the 2023 presidential election on a Muslim Muslim ticket, insisting it was a political strategy aimed at securing victory rather than a religious agenda.

Speaking during her visit to the United States, Mrs Tinubu, who is also a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, said the decision was based on Nigeria’s political realities, where electoral success depends largely on numbers.

In an interview with The Free Press, the First Lady said Muslims outnumber Christians in Nigeria, making it difficult for a southern presidential candidate to choose a Christian running mate.

“Let’s face it, the Muslims are more than us. If a southerner wants to run for president, politics is a game of numbers. You have to pick another Muslim. You can’t pick a Christian,” she said.

Her remarks come more than three years after the Muslim Muslim ticket adopted by President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima sparked widespread criticism and opposition from many Christian groups and religious leaders across Nigeria, who argued that the arrangement failed to reflect the country’s religious diversity.

Mrs Tinubu also stressed that despite being a Christian, she ensures that both Christians and Muslims are treated fairly within the Presidency.

“I’m a Christian in the presidential villa. I take care of the interests of Christians, and I also take care of Muslims. That is what life should be. We have to respect everybody, irrespective of religion,” she said.

The First Lady explained that one of the major reasons for her trip to the United States, where she attended the National Prayer Breakfast last week, was to address what she described as false narratives about religious persecution in Nigeria.

According to her, the mission was to “make some clarifications about recent hype on social media that there is Christian genocide.”

She argued that the campaign alleging genocide against Christians gained traction shortly after the Tinubu administration began steering Nigeria out of severe economic challenges marked by soaring food prices, a weakening naira and widespread economic hardship.

In a separate interview with The Hill during the same visit, Mrs Tinubu dismissed growing international concerns over the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, describing such reports as “propaganda.”

While rejecting claims of Christian genocide, the First Lady called for stronger United States military intervention against terrorists and armed bandits operating in northern Nigeria.

She specifically praised the Christmas Day military strikes ordered by President Donald Trump, describing the operation as “a blessing” for Nigeria and urging continued support in tackling insecurity in the country.

Mrs Tinubu maintained that Nigerians of different faiths must continue to coexist peacefully, insisting that mutual respect, rather than religious division, remains essential to national unity.