Former Borno governor Ali Sheriff threatens to slap Bola Tinubu at APC meeting

Former Borno governor Ali Sheriff threatens to slap Bola Tinubu at APC meeting

Posted by Sylvester on Friday, April 4, 2014 0

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FORMER Borno State governor Ali Modu Sheriff threatened to slap party leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu at a recent All Progressives Congress (APC) national executive committee meeting in Abuja over a dispute on its forthcoming congresses.

At a recent meeting at the party's headquarters, a debate about how to finalise the merger between the APC's component parts, got very heated. It almost turned violent with Alhaji Sheriff exploding midway through the meeting, raining abuses on Asiwaju Tinubu and threatening to slap him.

However, the intervention of other party leaders including a former head of state Muhammadu Buhari and one-time vice president, Atiku Abubakar, prevented the situation from getting ugly.  At the end of the meeting, the APC fixed April 5 for its ward congresses, while local government and state congresses will hold April 12 and 23 respectively, with the party's first national convention taking place on May 24.

It was while discussing this that former governors Sheriff and Tinubu clashed after Chief Bisi Akande, the party chairman nominated himself and national secretary, Tijjani Tumsah to serve as chairman and secretary of the National Convention Committee, which will oversee the conduct of the congresses. Angered by the suggestion, Alhaji Sheriff grabbed the microphone and expressed his opposition to the choices.

He was said to have described the party as immature and Asiwaju Tinubu then asked him not to speak about the party in a negative manner, telling Alhaji Sheriff to quit the APC and go elsewhere, if he was not comfortable with the party. At this point, the former Borno State governor, allegedly began to insult Asiwaju Tinubu, asking him if he owned the party.

Alhaji Sheriff exploded: “Who are you? Who do you think you are? Are you the owner of the party?”

Party leaders present at the meeting reportedly watched in amazement as Alhaji Sheriff, 58, rained abuses on Asiwaju Tinubu, 62, who for his part, kept his cool throughout. It was at this point that General Buhari intervened and tongue-lashed Alhaji Sheriff for losing his composure.

According to party insiders, Alhaji Sheriff’s action was most likely a result of bottled-up anger over the refusal of the party to accord him a prominent position since its registration. One source alleged that the former governor has always fingered Asiwaju Tinubu, for what he sees as his ill-treatment.

One party source said: “All this is about ego. Ali Modu Sheriff believes that he was a governor just like Tinubu and both are former senators and so he should not be treated in such manner.”

According to one other APC source, Asiwaju Tinubu and General Buhari as well as some other key leaders are afraid that giving Alhaji Sheriff a prominent role to play could backfire on the young party. Some APC leaders suspect Alhaji Sheriff may be a mole planted in the party by the Peoples Democratic Party because of his closeness to some senior members of the ruling party.

Besides, the role Alhaji Sheriff is suspected to have played in the emergence and evolution of the extremist Boko Haram sect is  also a source of concern to some APC leaders. However, in spite of all this, some of the party’s leaders are not willing to let Alhaji Sheriff turn his back on the APC because of his popularity in Borno State.