Ali Modu Sheriff (born 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Borno State from 2003 to 2011. He was the first governor to serve two consecutive terms.[1]
Ali Modu Sheriff was born in Ngala Town, Ngala Local Government Area, Borno State in 1956. His father was the business tycoon Modu Sheriff, who was also the Galadima of the Borno Emirate.[7] He attended Government Secondary School, Bama (1974–1979). He attended the London School of Business, where he studied Insurance, Banking and Finance.
In 1981, he joined his father's construction company as a Director, later becoming Managing Director. In 1985, he registered his first company. His companies include Meroil Organisation and Union Chase.[8]
He was elected as a senator from Borno during the Third Nigerian Republic under the banner of NRC, his opponent then was Kolo Kingibe, wife of the Social Democratic Party, SDP chairman, Babagana Kingibe.[9] He was also a member of the Constitutional Conference and chaired the committee on states and local government.[1]
In 2003, he ran for Governor of Borno State on the ANPP platform and won. He was re-elected in 2007 and sworn in on 29 May 2007.
In both cases, he defeated the PDP candidate Kashim Ibrahim-Imam.[10]
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday 17 February 2017 declared former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff as the authentic National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). In July 2017, following the verdict from a five-man Supreme Court, Ali Modu Sheriff was removed as the PDP Chairman and Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi reinstated as the National Chairman of PDP.[12][13][14]
Controversy
Sheriff has been accused of being a sponsor to the Islamic sect Boko Haram by an Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davies. [15][16]
