NYF urges APC to review Sheriff’s appointment as campaign coordinator

The Northern Youths Frontiers (NYF), has rejected the appointment of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the North-East Zonal Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, describing the decision as an avoidable strategic and reputational concern that warrants immediate reconsideration by the party leadership.

This is contained in a statement signed Saminu Tukur
North-West Zonal Coordinator of NYF.

The group said it has been mobilising youth support for the Tinubu/Kashim 2027 project across the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, maintained that the composition of the campaign council must reflect the confidence, expectations and sensitivities of the electorate whose support the campaign seeks.

According to the group, the inclusion of Senator Sheriff in such a prominent position could become an unnecessary weakness for the campaign at a time when the APC should be concentrating its political energy on communicating the administration’s record and securing broad-based public confidence.

NYF acknowledged that Senator Sheriff has denied allegations and controversies that have surrounded aspects of his politics. The organisation equally recognises that allegations should not be treated as convictions and that questions of criminal responsibility are matters for competent legal institutions.

However, NYF maintained that a presidential campaign is not a courtroom, noting that campaign appointments carry political and reputational consequences.

“Individuals occupying prominent positions become part of the public face of the campaign and are expected to command confidence, communicate the candidate’s message effectively and assist in building broad-based support.

“The central question, therefore, is whether Senator Sheriff’s appointment adds sufficient strategic value to the Tinubu/Kashim campaign to justify the controversy surrounding it,” it said.

NYF said its assessment is that the APC should not assume that political experience alone is sufficient justification for retaining an appointment that has generated significant public concern.

“The North-East, and indeed the wider Northern region, has endured enormous human, social and economic consequences from the insurgency.

“Communities have lost loved ones, homes, farms, businesses, schools and years of economic opportunity. For millions of young Northerners, the consequences of the crisis are not distant political history; they remain part of the social and economic reality of their generation.

“Against this background, NYF believes political mobilisation in the North requires particular sensitivity to public perception and historical experience,” it said.

NYF called on the APC leadership to drop Senator Ali Modu Sheriff from the 2027 Presidential Campaign Council and reconsider the assignment of the North-East zonal coordination responsibility.

The group said such a step would allow the party to refocus attention on its campaign message and strengthen confidence among grassroots supporters.

NYF further urges the APC to apply a rigorous standard of credibility, public confidence, political experience and reputational assessment to all senior campaign appointments.
The organisation is particularly concerned that the voices of Northern youths—who constitute a significant part of the electorate and grassroots mobilisation structure—should not be treated as peripheral to decisions affecting the campaign.