Boko Haram: Ex-Borno governor cancels press conference

The press conference was scheduled to hold on Saturday.

A former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, has put off a press conference earlier planned to hold on Saturday in Maiduguri, the state capital.

The press conference was postponed for security reasons.

“This postponement was necessitated by the current happenings in some Local Government Areas of Borno State where many lives were unfortunately lost,” Umar Duhu, Mr. Sheriff’s spokesman, said in a statement.

The former governor, who is a leader of the newly formed All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, planned, amongst other issues, to use the press conference to clarify ‘certain misrepresentation’ about him.

Mr. Duhu’s statement said the former governor was also to “hold a meeting with stakeholders of the ANPP in merger from the twenty seven Local Governments Areas of the State.”

The ANPP is one of the parties that merged to form the APC, and the former governor was its leader.

“His Excellency Senator (Dr.) Ali Modu Sheriff deeply regrets any inconvenience this postponement might have caused and extends his profound gratitude to the thousands of party supporters, well-wishers and distinguished members of the Press who trooped to the Maiduguri International Airport to welcome him. He remains eternally grateful. Meanwhile a new date will be announced in due course,” the spokesman said.

Several party supporters and youth had thronged the Maiduguri International Airport to receive the former governor on Saturday.

Journalists, who arrived Maiduguri from various part of the country, had to return after waiting hours for the aborted press conference, which would have been Mr. Sheriff’s first major public political engagement in Maiduguri since he left office as governor in May 2011.