The All Progressives Congress has told Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party to join the party at his ward in Ngala, Borno State.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi said the party does not receive defectors at the secretariat in Abuja, the Federal capital and urged the former governor of Borno State to go to his ward to join the ruling APC.
Abdullahi was reacting to newspaper reports that Modu Sheriff planned to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) today at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.
“While we are aware of such intentions, we wish to restate our earlier position that anyone who wants to join the Party should do so at the ward level. We are happy to welcome new members to our party, but membership cards are not issued at the Party National Secretariat,” Abdullahi said.
Ali Modu Sheriff, who was governor of Borno state between 2003 and 2011, was initially part of the coalition to form a mega party from 2013 to 2014.
But he jumped ship and teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party. He became the interim National Working Committee chairman in 2016.
His tenure was turbulent as a section of the party appointed former governor of Kaduna, Ahmed Makarfi to replace him, leading to a protracted legal war.
Finally, the Makarfi group won and at a convention late last year, Prince Uche Secondus, was elected the new PDP chairman.
Modu Sheriff was born in Ngala in 1956 and went to secondary school in Bama. His father was a rich businessman. Modu Sheriff was later to plunge into business after attending London School of Business, where he studied Insurance, Banking and Finance.
In 1981, he joined his father’s construction company as a director. He later became the managing director. In 1985, he registered his first company. His companies include Meroil Organisation and Union Chase.
In the aborted Third Republic, 1991-1993, Ali Modu Sheriff, represented Borno state in the Senate as a member of the National Republican Convention. He made a return to the National Assembly in 1999, under the aegis of the All Peoples Party, the same platform he used to get elected as governor of the state in 2003 and 2007.
However, Al Modu Sheriff’s party affiliation has been chameleonic, moving from one party to the other. After abandoning the APC in its tentative months in 2013-14 and joining the PDP, he now wants to return as a member of APC.
Political pundits said Modu Sheriff has a lot of baggage, especially with his being linked to the formation of Boko Haram, which has been terrorising the North East Nigeria since 2009, with over 34,000 people dead.
News Agencies
