Ndume Remains Unperturbed in Face of Adversity

It may not be out of place to describe former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, as a cat with nine lives. It is in the light of this perception that Sunday Aborisade chronicles Ndume’s turbulent political sojourn in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

In one fell swoop last Wednesday, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, announced the sacking of the Senator representing the Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, as the Chief Whip of the Senate and his immediate replacement with another Senator from Borno North, Tahir Mongunu.

The APC in a letter to the leadership of the Red Chamber led by Senator Godswill Akpabio, was not done with the vocal lawmaker yet, it also demanded the resignation of the vocal lawmaker from the party he is a founding member.

The request was contained in a letter signed  by the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Umar Ganduje and the National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.

Akpabio subjected the request to voice votes at plenary and was affirmed by majority of the  APC senators.

The development may not be unconnected with the alleged anti-President Bola Tinubu’s comments made by Ndume penultimate week in an interview with journalists.

He had alleged that the President had been caged at the Villa and that he was not aware of the acute hunger being experienced by Nigerians.

Ndume suffered similar fate in January 2017 when he was removed as Leader of the 8th Senate.

The APC National Working Committee (NWC) in its letter alleged that Ndume seriously abused his office through unguarded utterances and outbursts against the Federal Government of Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu in particular.

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

The letter read in part: “We write on behalf of the National Working Committee of our great party to express our displeasure, our outrage and our deep disappointment at the unbecoming, unfounded and baseless criticism of the government and the party, the APC, by the majority whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume.

“As a member of the ruling party, we expected a much more responsible and decorous behaviour from him. But this has not been the case. 

“His uncouth and rabid outbursts against the government, before the international and global community is not only harmful to the government’s image alone but also undermines the party’s unity and cohesion and in addition, undermines the government’s effort to bring in foreign direct investments to Nigeria.

“As he is a ranking member of our party, his actions are unbecoming of a senior member of the Senate and sets a very poor example for others in future to follow.

“His latest tirade on air, during a programme on Arise Television where he referred to the government of Bola Tinubu, commander-in-chief as being run by thieves, portrays Ali Ndume as a person who is bent on running the country down and running the party aground through incitements and cheap propaganda.

“We have reviewed that Senator Ali Ndume should honourably resign the membership of APC and join any opposition party of his choice formally instead of hiding behind the veil of crass activism to decimate the hard earned cohesion and goodwill that our party, the APC, is enjoying within and outside the country.

“His utterances which are sheer propaganda, which are not based on verifiable facts, are unbecoming of a member of the APC caucus of the Senate of the National Assembly.

“It therefore behoves on the APC caucus to bring this to the attention of its members for necessary actions to curtail his deliberate mission to undermine the government and the party and the progress of Nigerians particularly those appointed by Mr President to work against his administration.

“We therefore urge the Senate caucus to take appropriate steps to address this issue and ensure that members of the Senate, particularly those within the All Progressives Congress, hold and maintain decorum in their public utterances.

“Accordingly, we realise that the position of the whip of the senate belongs to our party and we are not opposed to whatever position the members of the APC caucus in the senate may have, but we are of the opinion that Distinguished Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno should immediately replace distinguished Senator Ali Ndume who is bent on bringing down the country as the majority whip of the Senate”.

Consequently  the President of the Senate after reading the letter, put the NWC request to voice votes among the APC Senators which they all accepted.

Apart from removing Ndume as Whip of the Senate, his Deputy Chairmanship position of Senate Committee on Appropriation, was also taking away from him and was instead, made the Chairman of Committee on Tourism.

Monguno who replaced Ndume as Chief Whip, also replaced him as Deputy Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

The Senate however gave Ndume a soft landing when Senator Cyril Fasuyi (APC Ekiti North) moved a motion that Ndume should face a disciplinary action before the Senate Committee on Code of Conducts, Ethics and Privileges on allegation of kleptomania against his fellow senators.

In an apparent move to save Ndume from suspension, the President of the Senate in his remarks on Fasuyi’s motion, said since the APC NWC had requested for his removal as Whip and approved, he should be forgiven for now.

Ndume was not in the chamber on Wednesday when the big stick was wielded against him because he had to travel to Borno State to mourn a dead relative.

He nevertheless broke his silence on his travails on Friday when he spoke with journalists in Maiduguri, shortly before the Jumaat service.

Ndume said having reviewed the conversation that prompted his ouster, his action did not warrant his sack.

The unrepentant ranking Senator said he had also declined the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Tourism, arguing that he lacked the experience and exposure to lead such a sensitive panel.

Ndume said that he never wanted to be  Senate Whip after serving as the leader in the Eight Senate.

The lawmaker said he was given the chance to choose which committee to serve as the vice chairman having successfully led the campaigns that brought about the emergence of Akpabio as President of the Senate.

On the call on him to resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Senator said he was a founding member of the party.

According to him, he was one of the 22 Senators from the PDP that formed the APC when the current National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, was a deputy governor in Kano State.

He, however, stated that when former President Muhammadu Buhari in company of President Tinubu ordered him to sign a document to join APC at the Imo House in Abuja, he informed his people before going public.

Ndume said he would consult his people before deciding on whether to leave the APC or not. His words: “I could not speak up immediately after my removal as the Chief Whip because I was mourning the death of a family member.”

The sack of Ndume as Senate principal officer generated serious controversy last week as most of the public commentators,  highly respected opinion leaders and foremost rights activists, condemned the actions of the APC leadership and it’s representatives in the Senate.

The two main opposition political parties in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party strongly condemned the actions taken by the APC and the Senate against Ndume just for expressing his opinion on matters affecting the masses of the country.

For instance, the leadership of the Labour Party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said Ndume’s removal clearly indicated that speaking truth to power is now a crime in Nigeria.

LP described as uncalled for the alleged humiliation of Ndume by the Senate and the APC portrayed dictatorial inclination.

Part of the statement read, “The crime of Senator Ndume was his bold expression of his concerns regarding the escalating cost of living and food scarcity in Nigeria, and his revelation that President Tinubu has chosen to play the ostrich even in the face of acute starvation being witnessed in Nigeria.

“The dimension this administration is taking is grave. Few months ago, Senator Abdul Ningi exposed the rot in the government where the Senate leadership and the executive collaborators allegedly padded the budget. 

“That got him suspended and intimidated out of his lawful representative role as a Senator.

“It is needless talking about the economic crisis on going in Nigeria even where a few cabal are massively enriching themselves. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently said that food inflation has risen to 40.66 percent.

“Even with all these glaring and scaring challenges, the government is said to have paid about N150 billion for a presidential jet, building roads that have no direct bearing with the economic crises in Nigeria.”

The LP wondered what can be called democratic about the ruling party in making decision for an independent legislative arm on who takes up leadership role in the nation’s legislature.

“This is clear a tyranny of a cabal against the legislative autonomy. Nigeria is gradually descending into dictatorship and we are calling on the citizens to be on alert and put up a defence against the starvation weapon being deployed by this administration,” it added.

Similarly, the 2023 presidential  candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, said  the Tinubu’s administration, with the sacking of Ndume, has turned the National Assembly, especially the Senate into a ‘puppet’.

Atiku condemned the action, in a statement via his Official X handle saying members of the Senate should not be reprimanded for performing their statutory duty of calling the executive to order.

According to him, “the legislative arm of government was conceived as a means of protecting the people from the authoritarian tendencies of wielders of state powers, making sure that the executive does not go overboard in the application of its powers”.

Atiku alleged that the current administration of President Tinubu has become an anathema to the general principle of democracy as providing primary protection for the people against executive excesses.

Ndume had suffered and survived many trails as a politician seeking the best for Nigerians, especially his constituents.

He had in the past been remanded in the National Correctional Service, Kuje in FCT on the order of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court. This was as a result of his standing as surety for one of his constituents, Abdulrasheed Maina, the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), who failed to appear in court over the alleged N2 Billion Pension Funds Fraud. Ndume had helped Maina secure bail by providing the bail requirements. The bail requirements included the sum of N500 million bail bonds and two sureties on the same amount. One of the sureties must be a serving Senator who must not be facing any criminal charge. The Senator must also own landed properties in highbrow Asokoro and Maitama.

Maina was arraigned alongside his son on a 12-count charge of money laundering, concealment of proceeds of an unlawful act. Maina was accused of using his sister-in-law, Mairo Mohammed Bashir, a UBA staff, to open a corporate account without due diligence, in the name of Common Input Properties and Investments Limited.

The former chairman of PRTT was also accused of siphoning pension monies to the sum of N171.9m in cash and has been reported to have made $316, 588.27, and $314.6m from unlawful transactions between 2014 to 2018.

The Court’s ruling was received by many with rude shock with Ndume as an outspoken Senator who often rattles, disrupts and questions government agenda even though he belonged to the same party. 

Ndume had addressed issues concerning the Boko Haram insurgency with urgency because of the threat it posed to the well-being of the people in his constituency.

Ndume has served in both the Green and  Red Chambers of the National Assembly. He had represented Chibok, Damboa and Gwoza federal constituency in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011, as a member of the ANPP. He was the minority leader after his re-election to the House of Representatives in 2011. 

He won a seat at the Senate in 2015 with an APC ticket and emerged majority leader against the wishes of the party. After serving as majority leader for eight months, he was unceremoniously removed. Ndume returned to the Senate in 2019. He emerged once again as majority leader only for 19 months. During his majority leadership stint, he was mot allowed to preside as Chairman of any committee until he was ousted. 

He was however the deputy chairman, committee of Rules and Business; member, committee on Aviation; member, committee on Foreign Affairs and member, committee on Public Procurement.

Ndume has sponsored numerous bills among which are the North East Development Commission Bill, and the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill which raised national concerns and got rejected by President Buhari. Ndume was suspended during the 8th Senate.

He had once been punished for some of his controversial statements concerning the Boko Haram insurgency and this deprived his constituents of representations for eight months. 

He was also heavily criticised and eventually sacked by the APC caucus for allegedly blocking the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Magu, as substantive EFCC chairman that was later arrested for alleged bribery and other financial crimes in 2019. 

When Ndume was in the PDP, he was not in the good books of Senator Bukola Saraki and Senator Dino Melaye, and these also led to a six-month suspension, as well as ruffled arguments on the floor of the Senate.

Ndume ran for the President of Senate in the 9th Assembly but he was not favoured to assume the coveted office. He was defeated by Senator Ahmad Lawan. 

He was in November 2011, linked to Boko Haram. Those who know Ndume very well suspected foul play. Ndume is a devout Muslim and comes from a multi religious background and could not have been a party to such allegations. 

Though a Moslem, his mother and some of his siblings are Christians, so Ndume could not be sponsoring a radical group that delights in terminating lives and destroying property. 

Many discerning Nigerians saw the hands of his detractors in the charges that were levelled against him. This was indeed a low point in the promising and flourishing political career of a bourgeoning leader. This did not however deter him neither did his teeming supporters abandon him. 

Ndume kept the flag flying with his constituents providing the necessary support. And since it is often said that no matter how long you suppress truth, it will always manifest, Ndume again triumphed over falsehood.

The truth manifested itself when the so- called Boko Haram spokesman that implicated Ndume and who had served out his three-year jail term, confessed his lies and begged for forgiveness.