Three days after the National Assembly proceeded on its annual recess and nine days after Senator Ali Ndume’s removal as Senate Chief Whip and Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from his Borno South Senatorial District have again converged on Abuja, asking the party national secretariat to rescind its decision.
The APC Senate Caucus axed Senator Ndume at the formal request of the National Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the leader of the team, Baba Ahmed Mustapha, insisted that the lawmaker representing Borno South has done nothing wrong to warrant his removal as one of the principal officers of the Senate.
Saturday Tribune checks revealed that Senator Ndume had said last week at a media briefing in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, that he nursed no regret over his removal as Chief Whip of the Tenth Senate due to his criticism of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, which the party national leadership described as unbecoming of his status as a senior member of the party.
Baba Ahmed Mustapha maintained that Senator Ndume merely drew the government’s attention to the challenges facing Nigerians as a result of its harsh economic policies.
Mustapha also faulted the condemnation of Ndume by a former chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party who recently defected to the APC in Borno State, Daniel Bwala.
“We appreciate and respect Daniel Bwala’s right to express his opinion on any issue as guaranteed by the Constitution just as the Senator knew that the observations made are within the bounds of the Constitution.
“As a learned lawyer, he knew that the provision of section 39 which guarantees the freedom of expression is applicable to all citizens.
We make no excuses for the Senator. As a human being, he has deficiencies. As a politician, he may not have lived up to people’s expectations. But we are proud that he has stood up to be counted when it matters most.
“He refused to behave like the ostrich, who, seeing the approaching storm, buries its head in the sand. His statement was made within the context of a call for proactive action by the government rather than an instigation against it.
“He could have kept silent and enjoyed the privileges bestowed by his office if he had wished. But as a politician to whom the welfare of the people is always of utmost concern, and conscious of the burden imposed on him by history, he never forgot the words of Frantz Fanon, the Algerian revolutionary who said, ‘the future will have no pity for those who, possessing the exceptional privilege of being able to speak words of truth, have taken refuge in an attitude of indifference and sometimes cold complicity.’
“Daniel Bwala has taken upon himself the responsibility of denigrating the senator and accusing him of not living up to the expectations of his constituents, including grandstanding.
We can present no better and stronger proof of Ndume’s relevance other than his consistent elections as a member of the House of Representatives and later as a senator since 2003.
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“The senator has empowered many constituents, but as a person not given to public and private display of generosity, the impacts of his empowerment programs have been manifested in his consistent reelection.
“There can be no better testimony than this. If Daniel Bwala feels otherwise, he is free to brave the field. After all, 2027 is not far. In all decent societies, consistency is always an attribute of ‘Men of Honour’ who stand by what they believe and what they do. But can the accuser fit the bill?
“It is not only amazing but baffling that Bwala, who established a reputation for pouring scorn on President Tinubu, is now trying to be his ardent defender.
He has forgotten that yesterday was not far. Daniel Bwala once stated that ‘Tinubu is ruling with a stolen mandate and the gods of the land are against his leadership.’
“It is not forgotten that immediately after the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at which President Tinubu emerged as the presidential candidate of the party and picked Sen. Kashim Shettima as his running mate, Daniel Bwala reacted by quitting the party despite the fact that Kashim is proudly from Borno.
“The same Daniel Bwala, on another occasion on Arise News, about a year ago, said, ‘the Tinubu and the APC are suffering from Pantophobia on 18th Jan, 2023.’
With such an inconsistent political career guided more by personal considerations rather than patriotism, could there be any reason, or is he looking for patronage?
“Sen. Ndume has been consistent in his political career and has been bold enough to accept his mistakes when and where pointed out. Public interest rather than private interest has always pushed his political course.”
Calling on the leadership of the APC to reinstate Ndume as the Chief Whip of the Senate, Mustapha said: “We call on the leadership of the APC and the Senate to reinstate Ndume as the Chief Whip of the Senate. Ndume has no plans to leave the party, and we therefore urge them to reinstate him.”
