The South West Mandate Group for Asiwaju has asked the All Progressives Congress to reconsider the appointment of former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff as North-East Zonal Coordinator of the party’s 2027 presidential campaign council.
The group said its objection was based on political strategy, reputation and campaign communication rather than any finding of criminal wrongdoing.
It acknowledged that Sheriff had denied allegations associated with aspects of his political history and stressed that allegations should not be treated as established facts in the absence of a conviction.
SWMG Chairman Adebayo Johnson argued that senior campaign officials inevitably become part of the public image of a presidential candidate.
He said their reputations and political histories could therefore affect public perception of the campaign.
The group asked the APC leadership to determine whether the strategic value of Sheriff’s appointment outweighed the controversy likely to accompany it.
Its intervention follows similar criticism from some northern political groups and a separate defence of Sheriff by supporters who argue that allegations made against him over the years remain unproven.
The debate has turned Sheriff’s appointment into one of the early reputational questions facing the APC campaign structure.
The party leadership had not been quoted in the supplied material announcing any change to the appointment.
