From Uthman Abubakar Maiduguri
The last is not heard in the debate about the appropriateness or otherwise of the inclusion of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff in the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign team as political activities gear up towards the 2027 general elections.
Senator Sheriff is on the list of the Abdulaziz Yari-led presidential campaign team raised earlier this week by the National Secretariat of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).
Soon after the unveiling of the team however, a North-West geopolitical zone-based grassroot mobilization group for Tinubu/Shettima re-election called for the removal of Senator Sheriff’s name, alleging that he is the sponsor of the Boko Haram terror group.
However, a North-East-based group, Northeast Coalition for Truth, Justice and Responsible Leadership (NECTJRL), at a press conference in Maiduguri, Friday, August 28, fired back at the North-West group, arguing that Sheriff is spectacularly suitable as a member of the team, with his status and experience as a political figure of national reckon.
“President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election will require unity and strong political mobilisation across Nigeria, particularly in the Northeast,” spokesman for the coalition, Alhaji Abba Chamma Habib, flanked by numerous officials, observed.
“Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and the wider Northern political space require leaders who understand the people, the political terrain and the realities of mobilisation,” NECTJRL maintained, stating, “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is one of those leaders.”
The Coalition continued: “Senator Sheriff has served Nigeria in several political capacities. He has experience, networks and political relationships. He understands the Northeast and understands Nigerian politics. President Tinubu needs experienced political leaders like him if the objective is to build a strong and winning coalition for 2027.”
The pro-Sheriff group declared: “We reject the attempt to use a politically motivated petition to exclude Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. We reject attempts to divide the political family in the Northeast. We reject the use of allegations as political weapons, and we reject the idea that individuals with personal political ambitions should determine who the people of the Northeast respect or should participate in the campaign for President Tinubu’s re-election.” ENDS
