Group defends Sheriff’s appointment, questions anti-Sheriff petition
By Ahmed Ahmed
The North East Coalition for Truth, Justice and Responsible Leadership (NECTJRL) has defended the appointment of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff as North-East Zonal Campaign Coordinator of the Tinubu-Shettima 2027 Campaign.
The coalition also questioned the credibility and geographical identity of a group calling itself the Borno IDPs Welfare Group in Kano, which reportedly opposed Sheriff’s appointment.
Alhaji Abba Chima, Chairman of NECTJRL, made the position known in a statement made available to newsmen in Maiduguri at the weekend.
Chima said the coalition would ordinarily have ignored the petition but decided to respond because it was addressed to the Director-General of the campaign and purported to speak on behalf of displaced persons from Borno.
He described as curious the fact that voices opposing Sheriff’s appointment were allegedly emerging from the North-West rather than the North-East.
According to him, an earlier anti-Sheriff petition was reportedly associated with a group from Kebbi, while the latest group claiming to represent Borno IDPs is operating from Kano.
“This geographic anomaly raises questions about who these groups truly represent and the interests behind their campaigns,” he said.
Chima alleged that such activities could amount to attempts to create artificial political divisions within the North-East.
He said the coalition had investigated the claim concerning IDPs in Kano and maintained that there was no formal or officially registered IDP camp in the state.
He commended Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno for efforts to close displacement camps and facilitate the resettlement of displaced persons in their ancestral communities.
Chima further described Sheriff as a politician who had served the country for over two decades and mentored several politicians and public servants across the North-East and Nigeria.
He urged the group to disclose its membership and constituency, stressing that issues concerning displaced persons should focus on their dignified resettlement.
NECTJRL, he said, remained willing to engage stakeholders in good faith but would resist attempts to exploit the plight of displaced persons for political purposes.
