The immediate past Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, publicly apologized to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, on Tuesday, August 6, over the comment made against President Bola Tinubu. The apology came a month after Ndume was removed from his position as the Senate’s Chief Whip. This followed his comment in which he claimed that Tinubu had been isolated and was unaware of the hardships Nigerians were facing.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Following his dismissal, Ndume was promptly replaced by Senator Tahir Monguno, who represents Borno North.
Ndume’s replacement was carried out based on a directive from the party’s National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
After a closed-door meeting with members of the party’s National Working Committee at its Abuja secretariat, Ndume stated that while he had offered an unreserved apology to the party, he still stands by his comments.
He said, “Yesterday (Monday), I was invited by the party and here I am to discuss family matters. Actually, the national chairman is not just a chairman to me but also a father. With what has happened, it is not surprising that I was invited to hear my side and we had a family discussion.
“I accepted the mistake of not talking to the party as a last point and I told the party that all my observations as a senior member of the family should have terminated or ended with the party. That is something that will be corrected moving forward. But whatever I said or did was out of patriotism.
“Those issues may have been said strongly but they are true. Again, I should have talked to the party as the last bus stop. Next time when I want to talk, I will come and get clearance or at least talk to the party.”
Speaking on the speculation that his membership was withdrawn by the ruling party, Ndume said, “My membership? No, I have not been expelled. Even the party did not say we don’t want you here because the party is my father. “The only thing the party said is that ‘If you don’t want this house, you can go to any house.’ But where will I go? This is my house,” he added.
The lawmaker from Borno State also waved aside the question on whether he plans to apologise to the President and the Senate over the development.
He stated, “The President and the Senate have nothing to do with this. The President did not take offence. I didn’t insult the President or say anything against the party.”
Ganduje also confirmed that Ndume had apologized and expressed regret over the incident.
The APC national chairman further revealed that the party intends to write to the Senate leadership, requesting them to reconsider their decision on Ndume’s removal as Chief Whip and to reinstate him.
He said, “We are quite satisfied with his apology. As he said, we invited him. As a party, the APC is the father of everybody. We are free to invite legislators, members of the executive and even all appointed party members in the government. That is why we decided to come together.
“It is a family issue and we need to resolve it. We are writing to the National Assembly to convey what has transpired between Senator Ndume and the party. As you are aware, he has apologised to the party with the hope that they can review their position.”
