The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday told Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the former factional national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who plans to defect to the ruling party to do so at the ward level.
Sheriff, former governor of Borno State and senator, was billed to cross over to APC along with his supporters mostly those who were with him in the factional executive of the PDP while he served as national chairman.
Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who served as deputy national chairman of the PDP while Sheriff was chairman was at the APC national secretariat on Wednesday to put finishing touches to the defection which was expected to take place at noon Thursday.
A party source who confirmed the planned defection to TheNiche said Sheriff would be received by the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and other senior officials of the ruling party at the APC secretariat in Abuja.
But the APC leadership made a u-turn on Thursday and ordered Sheriff to join at the ward level.
While admitting that the party was aware of Sheriff’s intention, the statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s national publicity secretary said the party’s membership cards are not issued at the national secretariat.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports in some sections of the media that the former factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) today at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.
“While we are aware of such intentions, we wish to restate our earlier position that anyone who wants to join the party should do so at the ward level. We are happy to welcome new members to our party, but membership cards are not issued at the party national secretariat,” the statement said.
The planned defection of Sheriff is set to reset the political narrative in Borno where Sheriff had been at odds with the incumbent governor, Alhaji Kasshim Shettima, and the mainstream of the party in the state.
 on Thursday told Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the former factional national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who plans to defect to the ruling party to do so at the ward level){kind=link}