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Keyamo Mocks Nigerians, Says They Are Too Hungry to Bother About APC’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket
By Eric Elezuo
Former self-acclaimed human rights lawyer, who is now the spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has thrown a jibe at Nigerians, saying that the citizens are too hungry to bother about the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket paraded by the party, noting that the same hunger will not permit them to be swayed by their religious beliefs on who they will vote for in 2023.
Keyamo made the remarks while answering questions during an interview with Channels Television on Sunday night, on the criticisms that have continued to trail the party’s same faith presidential ticket.
Bola Tinubu, a South-west Muslim and Kashim Shettima, a North-east Muslim, are flying the APC’s presidential and vice presidential candidates ticket in the February 2023 election.
“Nigerians are hungry, they want to see how that hunger will be addressed, not how their Christian or Muslim faiths will be addressed.
“They want to see our policies on agriculture and what Asiwaju has done before as governor of Lagos State, how he improved Lagos and how he will bring that kind of posterity to Nigeria as a whole,” he said.
Mr Keyamo also took a swipe at the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) for dissociating itself from a group of clergymen that met with Tinubu in Abuja on Friday while rejecting the same faith ticket of the party. He said the pastors should concentrate on leading people to heaven, not Aso Rock
“They should not be coming to question the decision of our party publicly. The purpose of pastors or their duty is to lead people to heaven not to lead people to villa.
“If I go to church every Sunday, I want to hear the sermon of God and I don’t want to hear the sermon of politics or who should rule me. I want to hear the sermon of God and what will lead me to salvation and not what to lead me to the villa,” Keyamo, who was obviously angry retorted
The Tinubu campaign has suffered a setback owing to the Muslim-Muslim strategy embarked upon by the party as well as the acclaimed failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration since it assumed office in 2015, which Tinubu has inadvertently promised to continue.
It is note worthy that the party campaigned on ending insecurity, rebuilding the economy and enhancing infrastructure, but as at the present the reality is a far cry from the promises.
The Supreme Court has vacated the order of the Court of Appeal which barred the recognition of David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
The apex court on Thursday held that the preservative order by the Court of Appeal was in bad faith, unnecessary, unwarranted and improper.
In a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba held that the Court of Appeal ought not to have made such order because it was not sought by any of the parties in the matter.
The Court of Appeal had issued an order of status quo antem bellum upon which the ADC exco under David Mark was de-recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
With the vacation of the order, David Mark and the other national officers are to be recognized as ADC leaders by the electoral body.
The convention produced the Tanimu Turaki-led factional national executives of the party.
Attention has shifted to the Supreme Court, which has fixed April 30 (today) for judgment in the leadership tussle within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
A five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba will resolve the appeal filed by the David Mark-led faction concerning the authentic leadership of the party.
Also on Thursday, the court is expected to determine the leadership dispute rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Two PDP factions—one led by Kabir Turaki and the other by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—are laying claim to the leadership of the party.
The Supreme Court had on April 22 reserved judgment in the ADC crisis to a date to be communicated to the parties involved in the tussle.
However, on Tuesday, the ADC formally wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, pleading for the quick delivery of judgment in the leadership tussle at the national level.
The party claimed it would suffer irreparable harm if judgment in the protracted battle was not delivered within the period allowed by the Electoral Act for fielding candidates for the 2027 general elections.
It stated in part: “Without the delivery of judgment within the next three days from the date of this letter, the ADC stands the grave and irreversible risk of being excluded from participating in the 2027 general elections.
“This would disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who have subscribed to the ideals of the ADC and deny them their constitutional right to freely associate and contest elections through a political party of their choice.”
At the April 22 hearing, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, who represented David Mark, urged the Supreme Court to allow the appeal, arguing that the apex court had earlier, on March 21, 2025, held that “no court has jurisdiction to entertain matters bordering on the internal affairs of political parties.”
During the hearing, Okutepa urged the apex court to hold that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
However, Robert Emukperu, SAN, who represented the first respondent, Nafiu Gombe, urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower court, which held that the suit was premature.
It will be recalled that a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed Mark’s appeal, ruling that it was premature and filed without leave of the trial court.
In the PDP matter, the first appeal, marked SC/CV/164/2026, stems from a decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who restrained the party from proceeding with its planned convention pending the determination of a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.
On November 14, the court issued a final order restraining the PDP from conducting its national convention.
Justice Lifu held that Lamido was “unjustly denied” the opportunity to obtain a nomination form to contest for national chairman, in violation of the PDP constitution and internal regulations.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the decision on March 9, prompting the PDP to appeal.
The second appeal, SC/CV/166/2026, was filed by the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC), and National Executive Committee (NEC).
It arose from a judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, which stopped the party from holding its Ibadan national convention.
The Court of Appeal upheld that decision, agreeing that INEC should not validate the outcome of the convention.
After hearing all arguments, the Supreme Court reserved judgment, stating that the date would be communicated to the parties.
