Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has defended Sheikh Yahya Jingir over his controversial support for the continued adoption of Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Gumi said Jingir should be “excused” for his position, arguing that the Plateau-based cleric operates in an environment where Muslims face what he described as excessive religious bigotry.

He made the remarks in a Facebook post on Monday while reacting to the controversy generated by Jingir’s recent call for Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets.

“Sheik Jingir should be excused for his extreme view in politics, he dwells in the eye of the storm of excessive bigotry against Islam,” Gumi wrote.

Jingir had recently praised President Bola Tinubu for adopting the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 2023 election and urged Muslims to continue supporting the arrangement ahead of 2027.

The cleric declared himself a staunch advocate of the ticket and called on his audience to support a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.

Reacting, however, Gumi said religious sentiments were not exclusive to one side of the political divide, noting that opposition politicians also exploit religion to secure votes.

“Just recently a mere Muslim VC in Plateau State is stirring controversy. On the other hand, the opposition is not also free from using religion to garner votes,” he said.

Gumi urged politicians and religious leaders to keep religion out of what he described as Nigeria’s “dirty politics.”

“In a multi-religious entity, religion should not be dragged into the quagmire of dirty politics,” he added.

Nigeria has recorded 1,000 confirmed cases of Lassa fever, with 237 deaths in 2026, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

The figure includes 53 healthcare workers who have been infected with the disease, highlighting the continued risk faced by frontline health workers responding to the outbreak.

The agency released its situation reports for epidemiological weeks 29 and 30 on Monday, covering 13 to 19 July and 20 to 26 July, respectively.

According to the Week 30 report, Nigeria recorded 17 new confirmed cases and six deaths during the week, bringing the cumulative figures to 1,000 confirmed cases and 237 deaths.

More details

According to the NCDC, the case fatality rate increased slightly from 23.5 per cent in Week 29 to 23.7 per cent in Week 30.

The NCDC said 23 states have now reported at least one confirmed case across 116 local government areas (LGAs).

Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue accounted for 86 per cent of all confirmed cases, with Ondo recording the highest proportion at 32 per cent, followed by Bauchi with 25 per cent. Taraba accounted for 13 per cent; Edo, 10 per cent and Benue, six per cent.

Health workers remain at risk

The NCDC reported one new healthcare worker infection in Week 30, bringing the number of healthcare workers infected with Lassa fever in 2026 to 53.

The agency said infections among healthcare workers remain one of the challenges in controlling the outbreak.

It said it had developed a 30-day Healthcare Worker Protection Plan to reduce infections among frontline health workers in high-burden states, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency also reported training frontline healthcare workers, strengthening infection prevention and control programmes, pre-positioning personal protective equipment and providing technical support to investigate and mitigate healthcare worker infections.

Challenges

The NCDC identified late presentation of patients as one of the challenges contributing to the high case fatality rate.

It also cited poor health-seeking behaviour linked to the high cost of Lassa fever treatment and clinical management.

Other challenges identified by the agency include poor environmental sanitation, limited awareness in high-burden communities and infections among healthcare workers.

The NCDC recommended year-round community engagement on Lassa fever prevention and urged healthcare workers to maintain a high level of suspicion for the disease, ensure timely referral and treatment, and adhere to standard infection prevention and control procedures.

About Lassa Fever

Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted primarily through contact with food or household items contaminated by the urine or faeces of infected rodents.

Human-to-human transmission can also occur through contact with bodily fluids.

Symptoms typically begin with fever, weakness and headache but can progress to severe complications, including bleeding, respiratory distress and organ failure if not treated early.