Ndume: Tinubu Trapped in Villa, Unaware of Acute Hunger Among Nigerians

•Says people who’ll tell him truth won’t struggle to reach him through backdoor

•Claims nothing appreciable is done lately to curb insecurity

Chuks Okocha and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is held captive by forces in the Presidential Villa, who have been feeding him with lies and shielding him from selfless Nigerians who can tell him the truth.

Ndume made the allegation yesterday while speaking with journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.

He was reacting to a resolution of the senate, which advised the federal government  to address the hunger in the land or face the wrath of the people.

Ndume had on Tuesday co-sponsored a motion moved by Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, Senator Sunday Karimi, titled, “Urgent Need to address food insecurity and market exploitation of consumables in Nigeria.”

He told journalists that nothing appreciable was being done in recent times to deescalate the security challenge in the country, which remained a permanent threat to food security.

Ndume said, “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.

“Now, they have stopped him from talking and he doesn’t have public affairs managers, except that his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press statements.

“Nigerians are getting very, very angry. 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 added, “The president should wake up, it seems he isn’t in the picture of what is happening because he has been caged off.

“He has been fenced off by plutocrats. He should open his doors and meet those who will tell him the truth. Unfortunately, the people who will tell him the truth won’t struggle to meet him.

“I am very worried not only for the president himself, but myself.”

He expressed disappointment that stakeholders had not been forthright in addressing the menace of herders in the country.

The senate chief whip stated that the menace of herders had also compounded the issues around food scarcity.