Senator Ali Ndume has often stirred controversy as a member of the National Assembly. Correspondent SANNI ONOGU examines his activities in the Senate and the perception of colleagues about his style.
All may not be well with a fourth-term Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who is at loggerheads with many of his colleagues in the Red Chamber. Certain positions he had taken led to his removal as Senate Majority Whip last week.
The Borno South Senator who started his journey at the National Assembly from the House of Representatives is not new to the hammer falling on him.
Observers say that he cheaply courts trouble for himself seamlessly.
Ndume who represents Borno South Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has had a tumultuous political career marked by controversies and clashes with political leaders and his party.
Ndume first entered the National Assembly in 2003, representing Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
He served two terms in the lower chamber before being elected to the Senate in 2011, where he has remained since.
His many controversies
Ndume’s outspoken and audacious nature and willingness to criticise his own party and its authorities have often landed him in hot water. In 2017, he was removed as Senate Majority Leader, a position he had held since 2015, after clashing with the Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki-led leadership of the 8th Senate over non-confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ndume was equally suspended from the Senate in 2017 for raising allegations of impropriety against the then-Senate President Saraki, which the Senate deemed inappropriate. A court later declared the suspension illegal and ordered the payment of his salaries and allowances.
Ndume’s daughter recently faced scrutiny following his criticism of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decision to relocate offices from Abuja to Lagos. Ndume defended his daughter’s qualifications to work at the CBN amid allegations of nepotism and insensitivity towards the Yoruba people. He emphasised that his interventions are aimed at improving governance and not driven by tribal sentiments, noting that his daughters are married to Yoruba men. Accusations of insensitivity notwithstanding, Ndume maintained that he would continue to voice concerns about governmental actions.
Ndume also criticised the planned relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters from Abuja to Lagos, stating that it would have political consequences for President Bola Tinubu in 2027 if implemented. Ndume argued that if the relocation is about decongestion, Lagos is not the right place as it is already overpopulated. He suggested that FAAN could consider relocating to neighbouring states like Nasarawa, Kaduna or Kogi, which are closer to Abuja. Ndume demanded that Abuja should remain the sole federal capital and that regulatory bodies like FAAN should be located there, rather than Lagos which is the commercial capital. He expressed confidence that President Tinubu would reverse the decision as it does not make sense to have two capitals.
Moreover, Ndume described the influence of ‘Lagos boys’ as misleading and detrimental to President Bola Tinubu’s decision-making regarding the relocation of CBN and FAAN offices. He criticised these individuals for thinking that “Lagos is Nigeria,” claiming they provide the president with poor advice that could have significant political consequences.
Ndume as the majority whip of the Senate, clashed with Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a plenary session on October 17, 2023. Ndume raised concerns about procedural violations in the Senate, citing Order 54 of the Senate Standing Rules to draw attention to how Akpabio presides over affairs in the chamber, which he believed were not in line with the rules. Specifically, Ndume referenced a motion on the need to reopen the Nigeria-Niger border, which Akpabio allowed to be debated without first having the official title of the motion read as per normal legislative procedure. When Ndume attempted to raise these issues, Akpabio repeatedly ruled him out of order, prompting Ndume to storm out of the chamber in protest.
More recently, on July 17, 2024, Ndume was stripped of his position as Senate majority whip after he alleged that President Bola Tinubu had been “caged” in the Presidential Villa and was unaware of the acute hunger faced by many Nigerians.
According to analysts, Ndume appears to lack the attitude to play by the rules in any leadership position he finds himself in. They pointed out that he has fallen out with virtually all the presiding officers of the Senate. They added that even when he is part of the leadership of the Senate, he chooses to blow hot and cold at the same time. More often than not they claimed that Ndume appears not to weigh his words and allegedly speaks before giving thought to the implications of his words.
APC wields the big stick
Ndume’s scathing criticism of the Tinubu administration prompted the APC National Working Committee to demand his removal as Senate majority whip. In a letter to the Senate, the APC said Ndume’s comments portraying the government as being run by thieves showed he was bent on undermining the administration and the party. The APC’s NWC also asked Ndume to resign from the party and join any opposition party of his choice. Senate President Akpabio after announcing the removal of Ndume as majority whip in line with the party’s decision, appointed Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC – Borno North) as the new majority whip. He said Monguno would also take over Ndume’s role as the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation. He thereafter reappointed Ndume as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tourism.
Mixed reactions
Ndume’s removal as majority whip was seen by the opposition Labour Party (LP) as a sign that “speaking truth to power” had become a crime in the current political dispensation. The party condemned the action as a display of the APC’s “dictatorial inclination.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in his reaction, accused the National Assembly of turning itself into an “enabler of executive recklessness.” The Turaki Adamawa in a post on X condemned Ndume’s sack as majority whip of the Senate.
The former vice-president alleged that the Tinubu-led administration was clamping down on people speaking truth to power. Atiku claimed that the nation’s democracy is being “compromised” by an “unholy alliance” between the executive and the legislature and “portends a dictatorship that will worsen a lot of the people”.
The Publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, urged President Tinubu to see Ndume as his best friend in spite of his penchant to criticise the policies of his administration.
Momodu, who made this assertion in an open letter, said the president should beware of “hero worshippers at the National Assembly,” he said.
The letter reads in part: “In the name of God, beware of those hero-worshippers at the National Assembly who have turned you into God. Ndume is your best friend. Listen to him. There’s danger ahead.”
Also, a political activist, Deji Adeyanju, said despite being of the same party with the governing party, Ndume has demonstrated the rare courage to side with the Nigerian people who are increasingly being impoverished by harsh government policies.
“I commend Senator Ndume for his forthrightness and urge him to continue to stand by his conviction by speaking truth to power.
Speaking on the sack of Ndume and its implications, a Legislative Advocate, Mr. Chibuzo Okereke, urged the Borno South senator to use the opportunity afforded by his present predicament to reflect on his political and legislative strategy by capitalising on the instrument provided by the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act to voice his concerns on the floor of the Senate where he enjoys immunity rather than granting interviews on critical issues in the media that could be interpreted as a breach of privilege.
Okereke said: “Well, there are a number of issues concerning him and I will answer it in two ways. First of all, the man himself, distinguished Senator Ali Ndume, like we have seen, has been a controversial person. I remember in the eighth Assembly, he faced a suspension. In the ninth Assembly, he also had issues and of course, this 10th Assembly, after leading the campaign to elect the distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President, ordinarily people look forward that he would have been appointed as the Majority Leader of the Senate, but he said in his interview that he was asked to be Majority Whip and deputy chairman of Appropriation Committee.
“But the distinguished Senator himself, I think, needs to use this opportunity to reflect. Having been in the National Assembly for almost 20 years or more, I feel that he should have imbibed the parliamentary or legislative principles so much so that having the floor is the greatest opportunity anybody can have and being a ranking member.
“So most of the things he speaks to in the media that could amount to breach of privileges, he can actually raise on the floor of the Senate and be protected by the instrument of legislative practice because we know how the system works. Sometimes, it is under the rules, if you go outside and grant interviews, it can amount to breach of privileges.
“But if you raise matters of privilege or matters of information or matters of urgent public importance, the same thing he said in the media, he can raise on the floor and he will be totally protected because the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act, protect every member or senator from the statements he makes in the course of discharging his duties in the chamber.
“But if you go out, you saw what happened with Senator Abdul Ningi. So I don’t know why experienced lawmakers are maybe because of influence of politics or trying to curry the favour of the public as being the man who speaks up cannot stick to legislative principles.
“If an ordinary citizen says that, it’s a different thing. But if you’re a senator, you have a statutory platform whereby you can speak and still remain protected. The reason is that if you’re such a voice of the people, it is good you don’t lose that voice, because when you do, many people will suffer that you normally speak for. So, and being in the leadership is critical because there are matters that are not discussed on the floor. As a Whip of the Senate, you are in the leadership caucus of the Senate and the National Assembly which means you attend to higher matters by attending leadership meetings which they hold on Mondays before the legislative chamber activities on Tuesdays.
“To lose that opportunity to be that strong voice for the people, that voice for direction by leaving the leadership corridor is not also good for the millions of people that probably believe in him. And that is why I think he should reflect about his political strategy and how he engages on issues so that he can remain a voice to provide direction in the leadership and on the floor. But in terms of how swiftly the Senate quickly removed him, it’s simply not a good perception and it adds to the idea that the independence of the legislature is still a big question in the country.”
On whether he sees Ndume bouncing back to reckoning after this blow or this is his endgame, Okereke who is the founder of Project Hope Alive and Co-convener of the National Legislative Conference, said: “No, I don’t see it as his end. Senator Ndume is a very strong rallying point. He was the one who told the whole country that he had his candidate and that he himself even wanted to be the Senate President. But the President is his friend and he respects the President and that the President has asked him to support Senator Akpabio.
“So, I don’t think this will be the end but on one occasion in the Senate, we saw him got angry over the Ways and Means report to his own Chairman of Appropriation, who was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance during the ninth Assembly that recommended the passage of the presidential request during President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure. I think that’s a good thing.
“At a point he walked out on the Senate President during sitting. This is why I said he should reflect on his own political strategy. But in terms of end game, I don’t think so. He survived the suspension under Senator Saraki in the eighth Assembly. He was the leader, I think, at a point and he was later changed and it was given to somebody else.
“He survived Senator Lawan in the ninth assembly about leadership. In this tenth assembly, he was Whip and he was also removed. So if you look at this, because it’s not really about him fighting for the people, but about him applying his legislative experience strategically to see that the people who are following him, he continues to be a voice for them.
“So, whether he stays in APC or not, depending on the political dynamics in his home state, he can still return to the National Assembly in the 11th Assembly, but for now, he was only removed as Whip. He has not been removed as a senator and I’m sure as a rallying point and a ranting member, he will continue to play underground politics to hold his base and this will also point to, if all of them return in 2027, the kind of tough situation we will have as to who becomes the senate president, if they don’t mend fences before that time.”
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said Ndume’s removal as Majority Whip is tantamount to undermining the freedom of expression of lawmakers and the fundamental functions of the legislature.
Rafsanjani said: “We have always advocated for a constructive legislature that should be able to carry out its own responsibilities based on constitutional mandate and based on the people’s mandate given to its members.
‘I accepted my fate’
In breaking his silence 72 hours after his removal, Ndume described his ouster as “an act of God.”
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, July 19, Ndume stated that after reviewing his interview and receiving feedback from friends and elders, he was assured that he had spoken nothing but the truth.
He said: “I have reviewed the interview I granted. I also shared with friends, leaders, elders in this country to review and get back to me to tell me if I have said anything that is not true or that is wrong in that interview.
“Unanimously, the people I shared with and my conviction too, tell me that I didn’t do anything wrong, I did not say anything wrong and therefore, I want to state that I stand with all my statements in the interview I granted.
“The party that recommended me to be removed as being the chief whip of the senate, I take that as an act of God.
“It is God that gave me that position, and it is God that took that through APC, so I bear no grudges.”
Ndume, however, rejected his new appointment in the upper legislative chamber.
He said: “I learnt that I have been appointed chairman of tourism. I want to state here that I beg to decline for two reasons.
“You must do something that you are interested in, I’m not a tourist, I don’t have a visa to any country as I am speaking to you.
“I have never been to China, India, or France except America where I schooled, and London I used to go, but even at that, I can’t remember going to any of these countries.
“I’m not experienced in that. I would prefer to be an ordinary member; besides I have committees that I’m already content with.”
In conclusion, despite the setbacks, Ndume has vowed to remain a vocal critic of the government, by speaking out on issues he believes are affecting his constituents and the country at large.
This has earned him both praise and criticism, with some seeing him as a principled lawmaker willing to challenge the status quo, while others view him as a disruptive force within the APC. Looking ahead, Ndume’s political future remains uncertain. While he has managed to avoid suspension this time, the APC’s action against him suggests that the party leadership is growing increasingly intolerant of his outspoken nature. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to weather the storm and continue his political career within the APC, or if he will ultimately decide to seek greener pastures in an opposition political party as advised by the APC.
Given the current political climate and the APC’s apparent willingness to take decisive action against dissenting voices, Ndume’s survival in the 2027 elections may depend on his ability to navigate the political landscape and maintain the support of his constituents. Whether he chooses to remain with the APC or defect to a new party, his ability to connect with voters and articulate a compelling vision for the future will be crucial to his political fortunes. It also remains to be seen if this will turn out to be a political endgame for him or he will reenact his staying power that has brought him thus far in the National Assembly since 2003 by bouncing back like the proverbial cat with nine lives in the current dispensation.
