By Ishaya Ibrahim
Less than a week after Senator Ali Ndume accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of running a solo show despite hunger across the land, the Senate has removed him as the Chief Whip and replaced him with Senator Tahir Monguno.
Ndume’s replacement by the Senate followed a directive issued to that effect in a letter written by the National Chairman of the party, Umar Ganduje and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
The request was put to voice votes by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and loudly affirmed by all the APC senators.
RELATED: Ndume says Tinubu “caged in the Villa,” and needs “to wake up” to the reality of national hardship
Ndume had alleged before journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja last Wednesday that Tinubu has been fenced off and caged by certain forces.
He expressed concern over the lack of appreciable action by Tinubu in tackling poverty, insecurity, hunger, and other pressing issues.
His words: “Mr President is not in the picture of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been fenced off and caged. 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 for his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press statements. Nigerians are getting very angry.
“The government is not doing anything about food scarcity, and it needs to act urgently. We don’t have food reserves. A food crisis is the worst crisis any nation can encounter. If we add that to the security crisis, it will be severe.
“The President should wake up. It seems he isn’t in the picture of what is happening because he has been caged 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 for myself.”
