APC Leadership: Modu-Sheriff Pulls Out of Chairmanship Race

Less than a week to the national convention of the ruling All Progressive Congress, former Governor of Borno State, Sen. Ali-Modu Sheriff, has pulled out of the race for the chairmanship position.
The aspirant said he needed to respect party’s position on the zoning arrangement put in place.
The APC has zoned the position to the North-Central part of the country.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja, he said his decision was also to respect the President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to zone the position to the North Central.
“I am sure that most of you have been following the trends of activities of our party, the APC within the last 10 days or so.
“The party has taken a position that the position of its national chairman should go to the North Central, meaning it is exclusively zoned to contestants of the zone.
“The President is the leader of the party and he has taken a position. I have always told you that I will contest if the position is zoned to my zone.
“That has been my statement always, and today they have taken a position. I respect the president as a person and as a president, he is my leader, therefore, I do not want to oppose him in any way or form,” Sheriff said.
Saying the party must have its reasons for the decision to zone to the North-Central, the former Borno governor said, “I have led a party: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), I am a founding father of this party. I was the Chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT) of the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP),” he said.
However, the former governor said should the position to zone the position change between now and Friday, he will still contest.
“And in party Congresses and Convention, there is what is called a unity list, on the last day of the convention, when the leaders make up their mind, they will bring out one list.
“And in that respect, the list will be followed by the participants because parties are made up of men and women who are also coming from the zones and states,” he explained.
Sheriff maintained that he would, however, not offer himself for an election that had clearly been zoned out of the North East.
He thanked the party members, stakeholders, and Nigerians generally, who had been with him through his campaign across the country in the last two years.
According to him, his campaign has resonated all across the country with a lot of people showing interest. He further explained that he was withdrawing from the race because he wanted to follow the rule of law, saying that it was not correct for anybody to do otherwise.
“I Ali-Modu Sheriff, will not offer myself for the contest of the APC national chairmanship position slated for Saturday, March 26, because it has been zoned out of my zone.
“I am from the North-East. North Central where the position had been zoned to is made of Kogi, Kwara, Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau, these are the places where the party’s next national chairman will come from.
“Borno is North-East of Nigeria. I want you to communicate to all our followers, men and women across the country so that they do not expect to see my name on the ballot paper.
“But if the party changes its mind between today and Friday and says everybody can contest, within 12 hours one can fill a form.
“But as long as the position is zoned to the North Central. I’m not going to be party to that,” he stressed.
The APC National Convention had been slated for March 26, to elect new national executives to manage the party’s affairs.
The party is currently being managed by a Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC). So far, seven aspirants had bought the APC Expression of Interest and Nomination forms at the cost of N20 million to contest its national chairmanship position.
The aspirants include: Malam Saliu Mustapha, a former Deputy National Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC), and George Akume, Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs.
Others are; Sen. Sani Musa, Tanko Al Makura and a former Governor of Zamfara, Abudulaziz Yari, among other aspirants, who have also purchased the forms.