Victor Ezeja
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the removal of Senator Ali Ndume from the office of Chief Whip by the Senate, saying it shows the upper chamber has become a puppet of President Bola Tinubu.
Prime Business Africa had reported that Senator Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, was on Wednesday, 17th July, relieved of his office as Chief Whip following a letter from the All Progressives Congress (APC), signed by the national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the party secretary, Bashir Ajibola, asking the Senate to remove Ndume from the principal office over his recent comments that were considered critical of Tinubu’s administration.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelNdume had in an interview in Abuja complained about Tinubu’s administration, saying the president is no more accessible and no more in touch with what is happening in the country in terms of insecurity and economic hardship, especially food scarcity.
READ ALSO: Senate Removes Ndume As Chief Whip For Criticising Tinubu
The APC national leaders said the senator’s utterances were against the Federal Government and give Nigeria a negative image in the international community.
Reactions have continued to trail the action of the senate against Ndume.
In a statement posted on his verified X handle, Atiku noted that in every democratic system, the essence of having a vibrant legislature is to check the excesses of the executive arm of government and also encourage participatory governance to serve the interest of the masses.
He, however, noted that democracy in Nigeria under the current administration has turned the opposite of what it should be.
“The democracy in Nigeria in the current administration of President Bola Tinubu has become an anathema to that general principle of democracy as providing primary protection for the people against executive excesses,” Atiku stated.
“This ugly tendency is being manifested by the steady posturing of our National Assembly, especially the Senate, of taking a reverse course in its core function and becoming a puppet in the hands of the President.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election described as “uncharitable”, a situation whereby members of the Senate who “perform their statutory duty of calling the executive to order” are punished.
The former vice president recalled that a Senator representing, Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, was suspended in March for alleging that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion. Ningi was recalled in May after two months of suspension.
Atiku said: “When Senator Abdul Ningi called attention of the country to the incident of budget padding in the 2024 Appropriation bill, rather than calling for a thorough investigation into the observation, the reaction of the Senate was to hand him a suspension.
“Today, the people of Nigeria are victims of ambiguous budget framework upon which appropriations for the current fiscal year are hinged in the face of multiplicity of appropriations.
“Only yesterday (Wednesday), Senator Ali Ndume called for the President to wake up to his responsibilities and provide succour to address the biting hunger and poverty in the country. Ironically, the response of the @NGRSenate to his patriotic warning is to relieve him of his principal office as the Chief Whip of the Senate.”
Atiku further stated that the National Assembly has “become an enabler of executive recklessness,” while ignoring the concerns of the people they represent.
According to him, “The health of our democracy is being compromised by this unholy alliance between the executive and the legislature and portends a dictatorship that will worsen the lot of the people.”
He said such tendency must stop for the good of the entire country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
