. Sent to Senate’s ‘Siberia’
. In one fell swoop, sacked as Senate Chief Whip
. Removed as vice chair from juicy Senate Committee on Appropriation
. Reassigned “unattractive” Tourism Committee
. Advised by ruling APC to find accommodation in opposition party
Samuel Adesola, Abuja
Woes that befell ex-Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, deepened on Wednesday as Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, allegedly also removed him as the Vice Chairman of the Appropriation Committee.
Ndume, it was gathered had been reassigned as the new Chairman of the not-so-juicy and “unattractive” Senate Committee on Tourism.
This development, it was also learnt, followed the reshuffling of the Senate’s standing Committees.
Recall that earlier on Wednesday, Ndume, a Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, was removed as the Chief Whip of the Senate and replaced by Senator Tahir Mungono, representing Borno North.
Ndume’s removal came against the backdrop of his recent “acidic” criticisms and outbursts against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Senator had in an interview with newsmen last week accused Tinubu of being ignorant and uninformed about happenings outside the Presidential Villa.
Ndume further alleged that Tinubu had been fenced off and caged, adding that his government was being run by kleptocrats who are only interested in looting the treasury.
How Ndume was sacked
When Senate President Godswill Akpabio, during plenary, put the matter to voice vote, members of the APC Senate Caucus endorsed Ndume’s removal as Senate Chief Whip.
Ndume was immediately replaced by Tahir Mungono (Borno North).
APC adding to Ndume’s ordeal
Also, in a letter addressed to the Senate Caucus by the national leadership of the ruling APC, the party asked Ndume to resign his membership of the APC and join any opposition party of his choice.
The letter was jointly signed by the party’s National Chairman, and Secretary, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and Barrister Ajibola Bashiru.
Background to Ndume’s travails
Daily Newshub had on Tuesday reported that some Senators loyal to Tinubu were plotting Ndume’s suspension.
Ndume had in an interview told journalists at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja last week that “Mr. President is not in the picture of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been fenced off and caged. So 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 his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press statements. Nigerians are getting very angry.
“The government is not doing anything about the food scarcity and it needs to do something urgently. We don’t have food reserve. There is unavailability of food. Food crisis is the worst crisis that any nation can encounter. If we add that to security crisis, it will be severe.”
Ndume’s views had generated series of reactions from the pro-Tinubu camp, as Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) and the ruling APC, both knocked the Borno lawmaker, describing his statement as derogatory.
