SOKOTO — Renowned Islamic scholar Professor Mansur Ibrahim Sokoto has fired a heavy political salvo at the Presidency, warning that the Northern Muslim community will not be fooled by religious sentiments again come 2027.
In a stinging critique that has sent ripples through the APC power corridors, the cleric accused President Bola Tinubu of using the controversial “Muslim-Muslim” ticket in 2023 as a mere smokescreen to snatch Northern votes before turning his back on the region.
Sheikh Mansur warned that any clergyman attempting to sell the same religious narrative in the next election cycle would be ignored, as the people have allegedly learned their lesson the hard way. He maintained that the North was used as a ladder to power and subsequently abandoned, promising that the electorate is now mobilising to teach the administration a “bitter lesson” at the ballot box.
The scholar, who holds significant influence in the North-West, argued that the 2023 strategy was a calculated act of deception aimed at the religious sensibilities of the people. With 2027 fast approaching, he insisted that performance and integrity—not religious labels—will be the only currency accepted by voters who feel betrayed by the current economic and security realities.
While the Presidency is yet to issue a formal rebuttal to the Sheikh’s specific allegations, the outburst signals a massive crack in the religious-political alliance that delivered the North to the APC in the last outing.