The Senate, yesterday, asked Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno-South, vacate his position as Chief Whip, following his critical assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
This followed a demand by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for him to resign from the Party, as well as for him to vacate his position as Chief Whip of the Senate.
The APC had made the requests in a letter sent to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, which was read on the floor of the upper legislative chamber during plenary.
National Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and National Secretary of the Party, Ajibola Basiru, nominated Tahir Monguno, Senator representing Borno-North, to take Ndume’s place.
The APC had accused Ndume of making hurtful comments against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service on July 10, Ndume had alleged that some ministers and lawmakers can no longer reach Tinubu to relay the prevailing economic hardship and hunger in the land, an allegation he repeated in an interview on a television programme days later.
He had said, “The major problem with this Government is that its doors are closed, to the extent that even some ministers cannot see the President; Not to mention members of the National Assembly, who do not have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss the issues affecting their constituencies”.
Ndume repeated the claim in a televised interview on July 12, where he had alleged that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was a more accessible leader.
The Senate APC caucus subsequently announced Sen. Mohammed Tahir Munguno (Borno-North) to replace Sen. Ndume as Senate Majority Whip.
Sen. Munguno, immediately resumed the seat as the Senate Majority Whip, with heartwarming welcome from his colleagues.
