People Were Afraid – Obanikoro Reveals Why Tinubu Lost Lagos In 2023

A former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has disclosed the reason President Bola Tinubu lost in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election.

He asserted that Tinubu lost because many voters were concerned about the Muslim-Muslim ticket fielded by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

NOP.NG reports that he stated this during an interview on Mic On, a podcast hosted by Channels Television journalist Seun Okinbaloye, which was posted online on Sunday.

He argued that the defeat was not caused by the Labour Party (LP) or Peter Obi.

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.