Ndume: Paying The Price For Criticism

FELIX NWANERI writes on the recent removal of Senator Ali Ndume as the Chief Whip of the Senate, which is the second time he would be stripped of the position of a principal officer in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly

There is no doubt that the senator representing Borno South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Ali Ndume, has remained vocal on national issues despite being a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

While his interventions have earned him friends as well as foes, the most recent has not only pitted him against the powers that be, but led to his removal as the Chief Whip of the 10th Senate.

His removal during plenary was sequel to the request made to that effect by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC. The lawmaker was asked to vacate his position for making hurtful comments against the administration of President Bola Tinubu. The APC leadership, in a letter co-signed by the National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje and the National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, also asked Ndume to resign from the party.

The ruling party argued that the position, meant for its members, had been seriously misused by Ndume through unguarded utterances and outbursts against the Federal Government, particularly targeting President Tinubu. A letter by the APC read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said Ndume was more of a mole in the party.

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 your Majority Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, 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, are not only harmful to the government’s image alone but also undermine the party’s unity and cohesion, and in addition, undermine 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 set a very poor example for others in the 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 chief 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 are not based on verifiable facts and are unbecoming of a member of the APC caucus of the Senate of the National Assembly.

And it, therefore, behoves 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.

“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 Sen. Ali Ndume, who is bent on bringing down the country as the majority whip of the Senate.”

In Ndume stead, Senator Tahir Monguno, representing Borno North emerged as the new Chief Whip as recommended by the APC leadership. Ndume was however announced as chairman of the Senate Committee on Tourism.

I am a democrat and a realist, and someone who always says the truth no matter whose ox is gored…. Therefore, I do not regret what I said

An activist in parliament There is no doubt that Ndume has been critical of the Tinubu administration. He was in the vanguard of the campaign against the President’s directive for the relocation of some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos in January. He said of the move then: “All these Lagos boys who are thinking that Lagos is Nigeria are just misinforming and advising the president wrongly.

Those political cartels that are in the corridors of power are trying to misinform the president and we will tell the President. The President will take action.” Ndume, who noted then that the relocation of the CBN offices and the headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to Lagos will brew a political crisis in the country, added: “They are not doing any favour to Mr. President because this will have political consequences.

“We only have one federal capital and that is Abuja. The regulators of the financial institutions are supposed to be or are in Abuja. Do you want them to move back because you say Lagos is the commercial capital? This is one of the mistakes and I’m sure Mr President will reverse it because it doesn’t work. You can’t have two capitals.

“Is the CBN governor going to be operating from Lagos? Or do you now say that because the majority of our oil is extracted from the South-South, you take the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the South-South? “Or is it because Nigeria’s agriculture is more in the North, you take Ministry of Agric to anywhere in the North? It doesn’t work that way. I’m very sure and confident that Mr. President will look at this situation because he is a nationalist and not just a Lagos man.”

In his recent with the BBC Hausa, Ndume not only expressed concern over the rising cost of living and food scarcity, but said the Federal Government’s inability to address the issue is a major challenge. He did not stop at that. He said some ministers are unable to meet with President Tinubu to discuss the matter.

His words: “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.” He expressed concern that if the government does not take urgent action, the situation could lead to famine and starvation, especially among children.

“We want to draw the government’s attention to the fact that Nigeria is not only facing a high cost of living but also food scarcity. We want the President to intervene in the issue of high cost of living and food scarcity. We have seen how it happened in Niger Republic and South Sudan, where children are dying due to hunger, and we are starting to see it in Nigeria.”

Walking a familiar path

Ndume is not new to disagreeing with the policies of his party or colleagues in the Senate. This cost him his position as Senate Leader in the 8th Senate. In what many described as a parliamentary coup at the time, he was removed on January 10, 2017 and Senator Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North) nominated to replace him.

Ndume was innocently conducting the business of the Senate on the day of his removal (January 10) as the majority leader until about 12:45 pm, when he reportedly stepped out of the chamber to observe his prayers within the White House at the National Assembly complex. Unfortunately for him, by the time he was done with his prayers, he returned to the Chamber to continue with the business of the day only to discover that the place had been deserted.

His colleagues had hurriedly executed their “coup” and quickly vacated the hallowed chambers to avoid any pandemonium, in case Ndume returns and decides to reclaim his position. Lawan was the preferred choice of the APC for the presidency of the 8th Senate, but when the bid was thwarted by Bukola Saraki’s emergence, the party recommended the former for the position of Senate Majority Leader, a proposal that was rejected by the APC NorthEast caucus, which opted for Ndume, who rebuffed attempts to persuade him to step down for Lawan Ndume insisted that God gave him power and only God can take it away from him.

However, the same APC Senate caucus, which backed his emergence as majority leader, pulled the rug off his feet over what the lawmakers described as antagonistic posture exhibited by Ndume against Senate’s decisions on critical issues. He was innocently conducting the business of the Senate on the day of his removal (January 10, 217) as the majority leader until about 12:45 pm, when he reportedly stepped out of the chamber to observe his prayers within the White House at the National Assembly complex.

Unfortunately for him, by the time he was done with his prayers, he returned to the Chamber to continue with the business of the day only to discover that the place had been deserted. His colleagues had hurriedly executed their “coup” and quickly vacated the hallowed chambers to avoid any pandemonium, in case Ndume returns and decides to reclaim his position.

Ndume swallowed the bitter pill and moved on with his legislative duties but got suspended by his colleagues in March 2017, for failing to do due diligence before bringing up two issues before the whole house. Trouble started for him, when through a Point of Order, he brought to the notice of the Senate, an allegation of purchase of a bullet proof Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) worth N298 million by the Senate president, Bukola Saraki.

He also called the attention of the Senate to the issue of certificate scandal involving Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West). Relying on Senate Standing Orders 14 and 15, which deal with the privileges of senators, Ndume urged the Red Chamber to thoroughly investigate the allegations because they had portrayed the apex chamber in bad light as well as subjected it to public ridicule.

He said the allegation over the purchase of the SUV prompted insinuations that it was the vehicle’s alleged seizure by the Customs Service that led to the perceived persecution of the then Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) by the Senate. The upper legislative chamber consequently directed its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to look into the allegations.

However, Saraki and Melaye were cleared of the respective allegations by the Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led committee, while Ndume was handed six months suspension. But for the intervention of some senators, who amended the initial recommendation of the committee, Ndume would have been suspended for 181 days (a year). The committee in its report faulted Ndume over his inability to follow laid down rules on investigating a matter before bringing it up on the floor.

His uncouth and rabid outbursts against the government before the international and global community are not only harmful to the government’s image alone but also undermine the party’s unity and cohesion

The resolution of the Senate against Ndume came in spite of pleas by some senators that the chamber should show him mercy as a first offender, but majority overwhelmingly approved his suspension. Anyanwu, who presented the report of the committee, told the Senate that Saraki’s name was not mentioned anywhere in the bill of lading or any document whatsoever connected with the importation or purchase of the SUV.

According to him, the respondents at the investigative hearing attested that the Senate president did not import any SUV as claimed in the reports in an online medium, which Ndume made reference to.

He also told the Senate that the report was fabricated with the intent to embarrass the Senate president, the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly. The committee also observed that Ndume did not conduct due diligence on the report before bringing the matter to the floor of the Senate.

It noted that as a former Senate Leader and a ranking senator, he was expected to have weighed the consequences of the allegation and carefully investigated it before presenting it. On the allegation against Melaye, the committee stated that he obtained a first degree in Geography from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

The report noted that having failed to cross-check facts before presentation at plenary, Ndume could not be said to be a patriotic representative of the Senate, and should be penalised to serve as deterrent to others.

However, some other analysts reasoned then that it was obvious from the verdict of the Senate that Ndume was punished for his previous offences against the Red Chamber. They cited the tone of some of his colleagues, who said that he was working against the interest of the Senate before the issues he raised against Saraki and Melaye.

However, like the cat with nine lives, succour came his way, when Justice Babatunde Quadri, who ruled on the suit he instituted against his suspension, held that the 90 legislative days’ suspension is illegal.

The judge said the suspension “is a violation of his right to fair hearing and freedom of expression as guaranteed by sections 36 and 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Article 7(1) and 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, 2004.”

Ndume accepts fate

While Ndume challenged his suspension by the 8th Senate in court, he said he will not travel that path this time, having accepted his removal as the Chief Whip of the 10th Senate.

He, however, said he has no regrets over his comment that warranted his ouster. His words: “I am a democrat and a realist, and someone who always says the truth no matter whose ox is gored…. Therefore, I do not regret what I said during my interview with Arise TV.

I thank all Nigerians who took to their social media platforms and groups who issued a press statement aligning with my statement regarding excruciating hunger and insecurity under President Bola Tinubu.

“Secondly, the NWC of our great party, APC recommended to the Senate that I should be removed which they did, I took that as an act of God, because, it is God that gave me that mandate as Chief Whip, so I bear no grudges about what transpired, after all I did not contest to be the Chief Whip or to be the Vice Chairman of the Appropriation Committee. Rather, I contested to be a senator representing Southern Borno and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

On his rejection of the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Tourism, Ndume said he is not a tourist and not good in tourism. He also spoke on the call by the APC leadership for his resignation from the party, saying: “I want to reiterate that I am one of the founding members of the APC.

It is the people of my constituency and teaming supporters that will decide for me whether to stay in APC, join another party or quit politics. Whatever their advice is, I will work with them.”