The South West Mandate Group for Asiwaju (SWMG) has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to reconsider the appointment of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the North-East Zonal Coordinator of the party's 2027 Presidential Campaign Council. The group's position is based on strategic, reputational, and political-communication considerations, not a determination of criminal guilt against Sheriff, who has denied allegations linked to his political history.
SWMG's Strategic Concerns Over Sheriff's Appointment
In a statement by its Chairman, Adebayo Johnson, SWMG said that senior campaign officials inevitably become part of the public face of a presidential candidate, and their histories, reputations, and public standing can affect the campaign they represent. Johnson stressed that allegations should not be presented as established facts in the absence of a conviction, and Sheriff's denials must be acknowledged.
Johnson said: "Our concern is whether the appointment is strategically capable of strengthening the President's campaign at a time when the APC should be concentrating on its message, achievements and engagement with voters." He added: "In electoral politics, the absence of a criminal conviction does not automatically eliminate reputational or political risk. A campaign must consider not only what can be established in a court of law, but also whether the public profile of its senior officials will help or hinder its ability to communicate effectively with voters."
Public Controversy and the Court of Public Opinion
According to SWMG, the public debate surrounding Sheriff has included references to the Galtimari Committee, political developments in Borno State during the period associated with the emergence of Boko Haram, allegations concerning the insurgency, and reports of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Johnson argued that the continuing public controversy itself constitutes a legitimate campaign-management consideration.
The group said the issue was particularly sensitive in the North-East, which has suffered significant human and economic consequences from the insurgency, including deaths, displacement, and destruction of livelihoods. Johnson added: "SWMG believes that campaign appointments in the region require particular sensitivity to public confidence and political perception. The 2027 presidential campaign will require the APC to communicate effectively on issues including security, economic opportunity, employment, infrastructure, education, food security and the administration's record."
SWMG Recommends Vetting Framework for Campaign Appointments
Johnson said opposition parties and political actors will inevitably scrutinise every senior figure associated with the campaign. He urged the APC leadership to back down on Sheriff's continued role in the 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, describing such appointments as a strategic and reputational catastrophe that could affect public confidence, implications for grassroots mobilisation, distract the APC's campaign message, and cast reputations of President Tinubu and the Renewed Hope campaign in a bad light.
SWMG recommended that the APC adopt a consistent vetting framework for senior campaign appointments, taking into account political experience, public standing, communication capacity, grassroots reach, and reputational exposure. The group said its intervention was aimed at protecting the legacy of President Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and ensuring the campaign architecture can effectively communicate its success to Nigerians.
Johnson concluded: "The credibility of a presidential campaign is inseparable from the credibility of the people entrusted to represent it. Every appointment should therefore be judged by the value it adds to the campaign and the risks it introduces." He urged the APC leadership to appoint other political gladiators from the region with both integrity and greater capacity to promote its 2027 campaign structure.
