Threat to Ndume’s Political Career

After surviving many political hurdles, including suspension from the Senate for six months and another controversial removal as Senate leader, the senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume last Wednesday received the heaviest blow in his political career with his removal as the Chief Whip of the Senate by the All Progressives Congress, which could threaten his future ambition on the platform of the ruling party, Ejiofor Alike reports

The senator representing Borno South on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ali Ndume is not new to controversies, having built a reputation for speaking his mind and telling what he perceived as the truth to power, no matter the consequences.

In 2010, Ndume had claimed in an interview that “the PDP in the last 11 years has vandalised Nigeria; they have only introduced kidnapping, assassination, militancy, armed robbery, power degeneration and widespread religious crisis.”

But following a disagreement with his party few months later, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) on whose platform he was representing the Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency for a second term in the House of Representatives, he defected to the same PDP that had ‘vandalised’ Nigeria.

He was elected into the Senate in 2011 on the platform of the PDP.

In November 2011, Ndume was accused of having a link with Boko Haram after a suspect, who claimed to be Boko Haram’s spokesman, Ali Konduga, told the Department of State Services (DSS) that he was in contact with the Borno senator.

But Ndume was later cleared on the grounds that Konduga was his contact person in Boko Haram in the senator’s capacity as a member of a committee saddled with the responsibility of opening talks with the terrorists.

After defecting from the PDP to the APC in the build-up to the 2015 general election, he was re-elected under the party’s platform in 2015.

After the 2015 general election, he defied his party to join forces with the camp of Senator Bukola Saraki and ensured that Saraki emerged as the Senate president against the wishes of the ruling party.

Ndume was compensated by the Senate caucus with the position of Senate Leader.

But the senator later collided with the Senate caucus when he disagreed with his colleagues over the way the then acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu’s nomination was handled by the upper legislative chamber.

Consequently, he was removed as Senate Leader and replaced with Senator Lawan, who was the choice of the party for the position of Senate president.

In March 2017, his feud with the Saraki camp deepened when he asked the Senate to investigate public allegations against Saraki and his ally, Senator Dino Melaye “so as to correct any misconception against the upper chamber.”

While Dino was falsely accused in the media of not graduating from the Department of Geography at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, it was also alleged that the Senate’s invitation of the then Customs boss, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), was due to his failure to clear Saraki’s bulletproof SUV.

However, following the recommendations by the Ethics and Privileges Committee, the Senate suspended him for six months from March to November 2017 after which a court also nullified his suspension.

When he was re-elected in 2019, Ndume again defied his party and contested for the position of the president of the 9th Senate, against the party’s anointed candidate, Senator Lawan and polled only 28 votes to lose to Lawan who had 78 votes.

Lawan appointed him Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army.

However, in the 10th Senate, Ndume aligned with the position of his party and became the Campaign Coordinator of the party’s anointed candidate for the position of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Explaining his support for the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Ndume had alluded to the fact that Akpabio was not necessarily the choice of the federal lawmakers but President Bola Tinubu’s preferred choice.

Though Ndume was eyeing the position of the Senate Leader, he was appointed Chief Whip after the former was zoned to the South-west.

But a few months after successfully leading Akpabio’s victory against the former governor of Zamfara State and Senator representing Zamfara West, Abdul’Aziz Abubakar Yari, the Borno senator warned Akpabio that drastic action would be taken against him if he did not desist from making unguarded utterances.

The Senate president had disclosed that money had been wired to the bank accounts of the lawmakers in order to enjoy their annual vacation. These comments had caused a backlash with some Nigerians berating the senators for feeding fat on the nation’s treasury.

Two months after, Ndume stormed out of the Senate Chamber after he was ruled out of order by Akpabio.

The Borno senator had raised a point of order, citing Order 54 of the Senate Rule Book to draw the attention of the Senate President to his handling of affairs in the chambers, which were against the rules.

But Akpabio had hardly allowed him to end his speech when he ruled him out of order, prompting him to storm out of the chamber to his office.

However, the most humiliating blow to Ndume’s political career was his last Wednesday’s removal as Chief Whip of the 10th Senate by the APC, his six-months suspension by the 9th Senate, having been nullified by the court.

In removing him as the Chief Whip, the APC, which also accused him of being a mole in the party, advised him to resign his membership of the ruling party.

Ndume’s removal was believed to be due to his comments in recent weeks where he alleged that President Tinubu had been caged at the Villa and was not aware of the acute hunger being experienced by Nigerians.

Before then, last January, following plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to relocate some of its departments as well as the corporate headquarters of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos, Ndume had issued a warning to President Tinubu that there would be “political consequences.”

The APC had in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, on Saturday last week, berated Ndume for his attack on President Tinubu and called on him to quit his penchant for unhelpful attention-seeking media posturing.

As if the admonition was not enough, Ndume was removed on Wednesday and replaced by Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Tahir Mongunu, who is representing Borno North.

The change followed a directive sent to Akpabio in a letter signed by National Chairman of APC, Dr. Umar Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.

The request for his removal was affirmed by majority of the APC senators at plenary on Wednesday.

Effort by Senator Cyril Fasuyi (APC, Ekiti North) to have Ndume suspended by moving a motion that he should face the Senate Committee on Code of Conduct, Ethics and Privileges, was frustrated by Akpabio, who said that since the APC NWC’s request for his removal as Chief Whip had been approved, he should be forgiven for now.

The NWC of the APC had in a letter to the Senate president alleged that Ndume seriously abused his office through unguarded utterances and outbursts against the federal government and President Tinubu, in particular.

The NWC further alleged that Ndume was more of a mole in the party and advised him to honourably resign his membership.

Ndume’s direct collision with the ruling party is a threat to his future political ambition on the platform of the party.

Will he defect to any of the opposition parties? Events leading to the 2027 general election will reveal his next political move.