Alhaji Adamu Shettima Yuguda Dibal
What will you say about the PDP presidential rally in Borno State?
I hardly grant interviews unless it is absolutely necessary, and I think this time it is very necessary because I listened to my former boss, a while ago, telling lies before Mr President at the PDP rally and I felt really bad. Why should he mislead the president? It is unfair, so I decided to tell the world what the truth is.
What is the lie and the truth?
I have worked with Ali Modu Sheriff for eight years as his deputy when he was governor. I have never joined issues with him even in private, but I felt really ashamed when I watched him speaking before the president at the PDP rally that Governor Kashim Shettima can’t get 30 percent of votes in Borno and I asked myself whether he was talking about the Borno we all know or a different place.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful, because it is not in my character, but we have a duty to tell the truth for the sake of Allah, for our conscience and for posterity. I know Sheriff very well. I was part of all his politics as governor for eight years. I know his capacity and what he can do or what he cannot do. What I know is that he is completely unpopular as the reality on ground shows.
When he stood up to say that some percentage of supporters were not at the venue because of security screening, he was only trying to cover his face; he must have been ashamed by the outing. So, I am talking about what is on ground today in Borno State.
Are you now saying that Sheriff cannot do what he said?
The truth of the matter is that the reverse is actually the case, contrary to Sheriff’s claim. If Sheriff gets 30 percent of votes for the PDP, I will consider Kashim Shettima and the people of Borno too generous. In 2011, Sheriff was governor of the state; I was his deputy and everybody knew that he was close to the president to the extent that he was asked to nominate a minister of state and he nominated his sister-in-law.
But with all the powers at his disposal, all the money and influence as governor of Borno State, he couldn’t deliver up 25 percent for Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 elections. Sheriff lost his own elections for Borno Central senatorial seat and anybody he opposed like Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume won their elections after they left us and moved to PDP.
The two House of Reps seats that PDP won in Jere and Maiduguri Metropolis were all based on protest votes by those within our own ANPP then and also other citizens of the zone who were all against Sheriff. We lost two Senate seats to PDP when he was governor. The ANPP won the governorship because of the goodwill of Kashim Shettima which he built over the years.
We won the governorship with Kashim Shettima as the candidate not because of Sheriff. My former boss knew Shettima had tremendous goodwill that was why he made sure Kashim was adopted as candidate when we had no candidate with few days to the 2011 elections.
I alone contested against the late Fannami Gubio in the first primaries, which Gubio won. When Gubio was killed and Kashim was adopted as consensus candidate and we were going for ratification, I opted not to contest against him, because I knew he could deliver the ANPP for us.
From 2011, Shettima has been able to win the hearts of the entire people of Borno State, including those in the opposition, because of the manner he is competently managing the security situation, his level of intelligence, humility and depth of understanding of Borno’s problems as well as his concrete steps towards addressing the problem.
Shettima, as things stand today, is fully in charge and we can look at some examples to tell you that Sheriff is just trying to mislead the PDP national headquarters and the presidency.
First, when the APC was formed, Sheriff did everything possible to take over the party in Borno State when the caretaker executives were to be formed. At one point, he came into Borno with a contingent to swear in a list of executive, but that one failed and at the end, Shettima’s interest prevailed.
Two, after caretaker committees were formed by Shettima, Sheriff did everything possible to make the APC national headquarters to reject the caretaker, but it didn’t work. When it was time to have elected state executives, again Shettima emerged victorious. When it was time for national executives, all those who aligned themselves with Sheriff lost.
But some say his being in the PDP is a threat to Shettima’s second term bid; don’t you think so?
When Sheriff was going into PDP, he boasted that he was going with the soul of the APC, but who did he go with? Out of the three senators representing Borno, Shettima ended up getting all of them into APC, including two that were in PDP.
Out of 10 members of the House of Reps, two were of the PDP and APC had eight, Sheriff only went with three to PDP and Shettima held five, all of them very strong. Out of 28 members of the State Assembly, Sheriff only went with about five or less. He didn’t go with any party executive in any of the 27 local government areas except one or so.
The entire state Exco remained with Shettima except two for one zone. Sheriff went with only two out 20 commissioners. All former deputy governors, including myself, didn’t follow Sheriff. All former commissioners, past and serving chairmen of LGAs and party chairmen remained with Kashim.
In fact, even close friends of Sheriff like Adam and Abiso that were known with him for over 30 years didn’t go with him. He left the APC completely naked. How can this same Sheriff say the person that kept defeating him at all stages will not get 30 percent?
Sheriff was elected twice as governor and as senator too, couldn’t that have been due to his popularity?
Borno is now different. The pains inflicted by Boko Haram have changed the political thinking of people not just in Borno but in the whole northern Nigeria and to a large extent, the southwest. Borno is not what it used to be when we were in office some years back. I am always in Maiduguri; I know what is on ground. Sheriff operates from Abuja. Borno is fully APC; this is the true situation of things.
I hardly grant interviews unless it is absolutely necessary, and I think this time it is very necessary because I listened to my former boss, a while ago, telling lies before Mr President at the PDP rally and I felt really bad. Why should he mislead the president? It is unfair, so I decided to tell the world what the truth is.
What is the lie and the truth?
I have worked with Ali Modu Sheriff for eight years as his deputy when he was governor. I have never joined issues with him even in private, but I felt really ashamed when I watched him speaking before the president at the PDP rally that Governor Kashim Shettima can’t get 30 percent of votes in Borno and I asked myself whether he was talking about the Borno we all know or a different place.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful, because it is not in my character, but we have a duty to tell the truth for the sake of Allah, for our conscience and for posterity. I know Sheriff very well. I was part of all his politics as governor for eight years. I know his capacity and what he can do or what he cannot do. What I know is that he is completely unpopular as the reality on ground shows.
When he stood up to say that some percentage of supporters were not at the venue because of security screening, he was only trying to cover his face; he must have been ashamed by the outing. So, I am talking about what is on ground today in Borno State.
Are you now saying that Sheriff cannot do what he said?
The truth of the matter is that the reverse is actually the case, contrary to Sheriff’s claim. If Sheriff gets 30 percent of votes for the PDP, I will consider Kashim Shettima and the people of Borno too generous. In 2011, Sheriff was governor of the state; I was his deputy and everybody knew that he was close to the president to the extent that he was asked to nominate a minister of state and he nominated his sister-in-law.
But with all the powers at his disposal, all the money and influence as governor of Borno State, he couldn’t deliver up 25 percent for Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 elections. Sheriff lost his own elections for Borno Central senatorial seat and anybody he opposed like Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume won their elections after they left us and moved to PDP.
The two House of Reps seats that PDP won in Jere and Maiduguri Metropolis were all based on protest votes by those within our own ANPP then and also other citizens of the zone who were all against Sheriff. We lost two Senate seats to PDP when he was governor. The ANPP won the governorship because of the goodwill of Kashim Shettima which he built over the years.
We won the governorship with Kashim Shettima as the candidate not because of Sheriff. My former boss knew Shettima had tremendous goodwill that was why he made sure Kashim was adopted as candidate when we had no candidate with few days to the 2011 elections.
I alone contested against the late Fannami Gubio in the first primaries, which Gubio won. When Gubio was killed and Kashim was adopted as consensus candidate and we were going for ratification, I opted not to contest against him, because I knew he could deliver the ANPP for us.
From 2011, Shettima has been able to win the hearts of the entire people of Borno State, including those in the opposition, because of the manner he is competently managing the security situation, his level of intelligence, humility and depth of understanding of Borno’s problems as well as his concrete steps towards addressing the problem.
Shettima, as things stand today, is fully in charge and we can look at some examples to tell you that Sheriff is just trying to mislead the PDP national headquarters and the presidency.
First, when the APC was formed, Sheriff did everything possible to take over the party in Borno State when the caretaker executives were to be formed. At one point, he came into Borno with a contingent to swear in a list of executive, but that one failed and at the end, Shettima’s interest prevailed.
Two, after caretaker committees were formed by Shettima, Sheriff did everything possible to make the APC national headquarters to reject the caretaker, but it didn’t work. When it was time to have elected state executives, again Shettima emerged victorious. When it was time for national executives, all those who aligned themselves with Sheriff lost.
But some say his being in the PDP is a threat to Shettima’s second term bid; don’t you think so?
When Sheriff was going into PDP, he boasted that he was going with the soul of the APC, but who did he go with? Out of the three senators representing Borno, Shettima ended up getting all of them into APC, including two that were in PDP.
Out of 10 members of the House of Reps, two were of the PDP and APC had eight, Sheriff only went with three to PDP and Shettima held five, all of them very strong. Out of 28 members of the State Assembly, Sheriff only went with about five or less. He didn’t go with any party executive in any of the 27 local government areas except one or so.
The entire state Exco remained with Shettima except two for one zone. Sheriff went with only two out 20 commissioners. All former deputy governors, including myself, didn’t follow Sheriff. All former commissioners, past and serving chairmen of LGAs and party chairmen remained with Kashim.
In fact, even close friends of Sheriff like Adam and Abiso that were known with him for over 30 years didn’t go with him. He left the APC completely naked. How can this same Sheriff say the person that kept defeating him at all stages will not get 30 percent?
Sheriff was elected twice as governor and as senator too, couldn’t that have been due to his popularity?
Borno is now different. The pains inflicted by Boko Haram have changed the political thinking of people not just in Borno but in the whole northern Nigeria and to a large extent, the southwest. Borno is not what it used to be when we were in office some years back. I am always in Maiduguri; I know what is on ground. Sheriff operates from Abuja. Borno is fully APC; this is the true situation of things.
Daily Trust
