Weak aspirants hype zoning to escape me at APC Convention – Ali Modu Sheriff

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Former Governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, has dismissed the rumours that All Progressives Congress (APC) has zoned its National Chairmanship position to the North Central, saying that weak aspirants for the top job are only emphasizing zoning because ‘they are afraid of the man Ali Modu Sheriff’.

Fielding questions from journàlists in Abuja, Sheriff, who was a Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), before joining APC, said the party have made it clear that it has not zoned any position to any part of the country, contrary to speculations.

According to him, “Party is run by human beings, party is run by party leadership. The party leadership as of today has not even constituted any committee. They were meeting for the last three or four days, to even come up with committees for everything – for the zoning, for the election, for everything. So, the party came up and said we have not even sat. There are no more questions to ask about zoning.

“I have to tell you an interesting story I read in the newspapers. As of today, even from the North Eastern States of Nigeria, there are many people looking for chairman, it is not only Ali Sheriff.

“The caption was that Ali Sheriff is edged out, why Ali Sheriff. Supposed that was the situation, is it only Ali Sheriff that was looking for chairman in the North-East? There are so many.

“So, it clearly shows you that those that are writing this are afraid of the man called Ali Sheriff. They are afraid. Ali Sheriff is the target, they probably do not want to go to the convention with Ali Sheriff. They are afraid, period. Once the party has given you those answers, there is no cause for alarm.

“Nigerians are not fools, Nigerians are human beings who are properly educated, who are well informed. If a hatchet job is done by a newspaper, they are only destroying their career and reputation.

“The party has not even come up with any committee. The party leadership said it has not even sat. There is nothing more to say.”

Speaking further, he dismissed the insinuations that he was seeking to contest for President in 2023, saying he is not interested in presidency but in the chairman of APC to enable him lead the kind of campaign APC did in 2014 which gave victory to the party.

“So many insinuations are going around, some saying Ali Modu Sheriff is not looking for Chairman, he is looking to be Presidential candidate. Please, I want to put it on record today, I am not looking for the President.

“I am looking for APC National Chairman so that I can lead a campaign like what we did in 2014 to make sure that our father and leader, Muhammad Buhari, hands over power to another APC man as a President. If I want to be President, I am not afraid of anybody, but I don’t want to be President but National Chairman”.

However, he expressed confidence that APC will get it right at the National Convention, saying “my view is that we will get it right by the special grace of God, we will get it right. Because you see nobody will build a party… APC as a party as you see, all the flaws that people have, they are talking to themselves. Everybody is talking. Because we have suffered to form the party that today becomes a national party and all of us collectively, we will get it right. I am not among those that will think otherwise, no we are getting it right.”