Daud Olatunji
The Senate, on Wednesday, relieved Senator Mohamed Ali Ndume (Borno South) of his duties as Chief Whip.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio officiated the removal during a plenary session, putting the decision to a voice vote where members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate Caucus overwhelmingly endorsed the action.
Following his removal, Ndume was promptly replaced by Senator Tahir Mungono (Borno North).
This decision arrives on the heels of Ndume’s recent public criticisms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which have stirred controversy within the ruling party.
In a significant development, the national leadership of the APC has called for Ndume’s resignation from the party.
A letter addressed to the Senate Caucus, signed by the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and Secretary, Barrister Ajibola Bashiru, urged Ndume to resign and consider joining an opposition party.
Reports surfaced on Tuesday suggesting that a faction of Senators loyal to President Tinubu had been plotting Ndume’s suspension.
The brewing tension reached a climax last week when Ndume, in an interview with journalists at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, expressed strong disapproval of the current administration’s handling of national issues.
“Mr. President is not in the picture of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been fenced off and caged. So many of us won’t go through the backdoor to engage him,” Ndume stated.
He further criticized the government’s response to the food scarcity crisis, saying, “The government is not doing anything about the food scarcity and it needs to do something urgently. We don’t have food reserve.
“There is unavailability of food. Food crisis is the worst crisis that any nation can encounter. If we add that to security crisis, it will be severe.”
Ndume’s remarks provoked a strong backlash from the pro-Tinubu camp. Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) and other APC loyalists condemned Ndume’s statements, labelling them as derogatory and unhelpful
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