A former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali
Modu Sheriff, on Friday said his decision to dump
the All Progressives Congress for the Peoples
Democratic Party was taken in the interest of the
country.
He said having been elected as state governor twice
and a senator three times, his interest now should
be on how to move the nation forward.
Sheriff spoke with State House correspondents
shortly after holding a closed-door meeting with
President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja.
He however claimed he did not discuss issues
relating to the PDP with the President, saying their
discussion was purely on personal ground.
He said, “Nigeria is a very interesting country and
people like us who the nation has done everything
for, both as individuals or collectively, need to pay
back.
“By the grace of God, in Borno State, I have been
made governor twice which is the maximum any one
can get in terms of the limits imposed by the
Constitution. I was elected into the Senate of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria thrice.
“This means that in every aspect of life, I am one of
the stakeholders in Nigeria because if by the help of
God, the people of Nigeria had placed me in that
position at every time, my interest now should be on
how to move the nation forward.
“Our interest should be on what makes the nation
move forward. My decisions will be guided by the
interest of the nation first. My thinking of moving to
the PDP is also in the interest of the nation.
“We believe that every time, as a leader who lead
people, you should advise them on the right course
of action.”
The former governor said the violence by the Boko
Haram sect was a serious concern to everybody and
all Nigerians must be ready to contribute to solving
the problem.
He said although he is not a security personnel, he
would use his experience as a former governor of
the state to contribute to ending the insurgency in
the state.
He said, “I am not a security man or personnel.
Whatever that as civilian I can do using my position
as the chief executive of the state for eight years,
what I have seen during my tenure I will contribute
to the security agencies through whom I got those
information.
“What you have to understand is that this country is a
big country and Borno State is a different state from
any other state in Nigeria.
“Borno has the biggest land mass bordering Niger,
Chad and Cameron. It is an open border. Borno is
not like the Republic of Benin with only one entrance
into Nigeria.
“In Borno, you can enter from 20 different points to
the country. Therefore, you need a perfect
understanding of the terrain. You need every
knowledge that any politician has particularly any
politician that operated in Borno state. That is all we
can contribute for now.”
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