Former PDP Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff
Inuwa Bwala, a former spokesman of erstwhile National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that his former boss was working not to only undermine Governor Yerima Shettima of Borno State but even President Muhammadu Buhari, according to DailyPost.
According to Bwala, the former Governor was only pretending to be Buhari and Shettima’s compatriot.
Bwala also claimed that if it was only by Sheriff’s strength, Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, will lose the coming election in Borno.
Speaking with the Sun, Bwala said he left Sheriff for some personal reasons which he will not want to discuss at this stage, adding that, “We know as a matter of fact that he is desperate to regain control of power so as to pursue his vendetta against those who deserted him. He is looking for willing partners to work towards distracting the government in the state, and may have found some amongst my brothers from southern Borno.
“It is on record that the same Ali Modu Sheriff, in the build up to the 2011 elections, who was reported as having promised to go for a southern Borno candidate, later sabotaged Adamu Dibal, who was his deputy for eight years and who hails from Biu, from getting elected as governor from Southern Borno.
“He brought in his cousin, the late Fannami Gubio, may his soul rest in peace, and went ahead to manipulate the primaries where Adamu Dinal lost.
“One would have expected him to make up for Dibal when Gubio died, by doing the logical thing in picking Gubio’s runner up in the primaries since they were only two in the race, but choose to bring forward the incumbent governor, Kashim Shettima and denied Adamu Dibal from further participating in the subsequent primary that produced Shettima.
“I give it to Kashim Shettima, he is young, intelligent, humble and pragmatic, but that is a story for another day.
“Again when he defected to the PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff never considered any person from Southern Borno, but went for Mohammed Imam from Borno Central to fly the flag of the PDP in the 2015 governorship.
“All these and other actions he took while we were with him, left me in no doubt that his new romance with the idea of power shift is a mere ploy to confuse stakeholders and electorate to actualise a personal vendetta.
“Those who are following him blindly may not see what we can see, but my word of advice to them is to know that there is no free lunch with Ali Sheriff.
“As you may be aware, I resigned as Ali Modu Sheriff’s spokesman since last year and that is why you don’t hear me talk on his behalf.
“I left him for some personal reasons which I will not want to discuss at this stage. I have worked with four governors, all of whom I still hold in reverence, so I will not want to discuss my problems with Ali Sheriff.
“I give him his dues as my former boss, even though he may have hurt me in some ways. I have worked with the late Mala Kachallah who treated me like a son, I have worked with Abdullahi Adamu in Nasarawa State and we still enjoy mutual relationship, I returned to Borno and worked with Ali Modu Sheriff, for whom I had to sacrifice my position in government as a commissioner as a mark of my loyalty.
“I worked with the incumbent governor, Kashim Shettima, who is a personal friend yet my boss. I have had varied experiences working with all these people and I give God the glory for such a privilege, which was not available to so many others.
“Like I said, certain aspects of the experiences are better kept for myself or for my memoirs when it eventually comes.
“What many people do not know about the relationship between Ali Modu Sheriff and Governor Shettima is that, as a matter of fact, even in the heat of the disagreement, Governor Shettima has always maintained a sense of fidelity towards Ali Modu Sheriff, whom he always refers to ‘my boss.”
”He had said at several public fora that he remains eternally grateful to Ali Sheriff for bringing him into political limelight and the eventual confidence Sheriff reposed in him. This much he has told me several times when I tried to mediate in the crisis.
”On the other hand, Ali Sheriff made us to believe that any negative development around him has the imprimatur of Kashim Shettima. This suspicion was further fuelled by some of the negative impressions some lieutenants on both sides created in the minds of the main gladiators.
”While the division lasted, so many people fed fat on it; those of us who dare tell the truth were often regarded as renegades.
”That spirit of suspicion is one of the issues standing in the way of genuine reconciliations to date.
”The governor has in all honesty demonstrated greater desire for reconciliation, but Sheriff is still apparently obsessed with the spirit of vendetta.
”He has continued to do things that may leave Governor Shettima with no option than to fight for his own political survival. I listened to an interview by Ali Sheriff’s erstwhile deputy, Adamu Yuguda Dibal, whom I respect a lot, and was disturbed by the revelations to the effect that Sheriff is working not to only undermine Shettima but even President Muhammadu Buhari, and yet pretending to be their compatriot.
”In a nutshell, today they are in the same party again, but the relationship may have been irredeemably impaired.”
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