AmanaOnline

By Onyedika Agbedo (Lagos) and Azimazi Momoh Jimoh (Abuja)

• How Akpabio Connived To Remove His Campaign Director General As Senate Whip

• Nigeria Heads For Totalitarianism, Lukman, CSOs Warn

For the second time in his legislative career and within a space of seven years, Senator Ali Ndume was axed as Chief Whip last Wednesday. The first time was in January 2017, when he went to pray only to return and hear that he had been removed and replaced with Senator Ahmad Lawan.

While he was present when he was removed this time around, the circumstances of the two incidents bear some similarities.

First, he was removed from the position under a leadership he was part of. He had teamed up with the ‘Like Minds Senators’ bloc to produce Dr. Bukola Saraki of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the President of the Senate and Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Deputy President of the Senate on June 9, 2015.  This was totally against the wish of the leadership of his party. So, when he was elected as Senate Leader, the ‘Like Minds Senators’ saw it as another victory for their group. However, the relationship between the Borno South senator and his allies went awry at some point, and on January 10, 2017, he was unceremoniously removed as Senate Leader.

His sin was his scathing remarks at the Presidential Villa over the Senate’s rejection of the nomination of Ibrahim Magu for confirmation as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which did not go down well with most of his colleagues in the upper chamber. He was accused of betraying the collective decision of the Senate by speaking against a resolution of the Red Chamber to turn down the nomination of Magu.

Just like in 2015, Ndume was instrumental to the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the President of the Senate having served as the Director General of his campaign in the very competitive June 13, 2023 senate presidential election in which former Zamfara State governor, Abdul Aziz Yari, came second.

But Akpabio could not save him just like Saraki did not. Again, his removal had to do with his views on the state of affairs in the country.

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a letter to the Senate, which the Upper Chamber relied on to remove Ndume, alleged that he “has been making uncouth and rabid outbursts against the government, pointing out that it is not only harmful to the government’s image alone but also undermines the party’s unity and cohesion and in addition, undermines the government’s efforts to attract foreign direct investments to Nigeria.

The letter, signed by the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, reads in part: “Senator Ndume has continued to attack President Tinubu and his administration, even though he’s a member of the All Progressives Congress. He has continued to attack this government.

“His recent interview is another clear example. We urge him to resign his membership of the APC. His frequent attacks are affecting foreign direct investments into the country. We can’t continue to sit back and allow Ndume to attack this administration.

“We call on the leadership of the Senate to sanction him and replace him as the Chief Whip of the Senate. He can no longer continue to represent the party as the Chief Whip. We urge the caucus of the APC to immediately replace him and in his place, appoint Mohammed Tahir Monguno as the Chief Whip.”

For Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Phillip Agbese, “Ndume should embrace the principles of teamwork and collaboration rather than seeking to divide and distract the government from its laudable reforms.”

The former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party’s standard bearer in the last two general elections, Atiku Abubakar decried what he tagged ‘an emerging unholy alliance between the executive arm of government and a legislature’, which, according to him, does not augur well for democracy.

In a statement he issued after the Ndume was removed, Atiku said: “We are beginning to see a pattern in which the National Assembly has become an enabler of executive recklessness, and the concerns of the people stand in the nadir of of priority list of the legislature.”

Ndume had last week played a leading role as co-sponsor of a motion that asked the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibilities particularly in addressing the scourge of food insecurity in the country.

Not quite satisfied with comments on the floor, he granted interviews during which he lamented that the administration of Tinubu has been hijacked and caged by people who had no concerns for the suffering masses.

During a television interview, Ndume expressed concern that the APC government of President Bola Tinubu was going down. According to him, the government was being run by ‘kakistocrats’, which he explained to mean “a government that is run by the worst, least qualified or most unscrupulous citizens.” He went further to add that the “government is populated by ‘kakistocrats’ and kleptocrats, explaining that the kleptocratic component refers to people “who are in government for what they can make for themselves.”

He highlighted the significant challenge of hunger and food scarcity, mentioning that inflation has risen to 40 per cent.

“In some places, even with your money, you won’t find the food items you want to buy, which is very dangerous,” Ndume added.

He further pointed out that Nigeria had never been included among countries facing severe food crises or food insecurity, but the recent UN and World Food Programme figures rank Nigeria as a hotspot.

“For people like me, I have to be scared because I’m 64 years old with 10 children, 20 grandchildren and I don’t have a passport or visa to anywhere,” he said.

Thus, what appears to be Ndume’s greatest undoing is his abrasive vocalism while defending any just cause he believes in.  Of the 10 principal officers in the 10th Senate, Ndume is arguably the most critical in his positions against the government, including the Senate and even Akpabio’s style of leadership.  So, the hammer from the 10th Senate was even predictable given that the parliament had in the past demonstrated hostilities against negative remarks on their actions and utterances.

Examples abound as witnessed in Ayim Pius Anyim’s Senate leadership against the late Arthur Nzeribe; Dimeji Bankole’s House of Representatives against Dino Melaye; Yakubu Dogara’s House of Representatives against Abdul Mumuni; and Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s Senate against Ndume as pointed out earlier.

A few days before his removal, events pointed to the fact that the powers that be within and outside the Senate had become desperate to ignore all consequences that may emerge backlash of his sanction.

It was learnt that key actors in the plots that led to Ndume’s removal first mounted serious pressure on Akpabio to ignore all sentiments regarding his role as his campaign director general before his emergence as President of the Senate.

The sources further revealed that certain senators from the South West put Akpabio under pressure to submit to the demand to deal with Ndume. The possibilities of backlash were also raised.

According to multiple sources, fear that moving against Ndume could polarise the Stability Group and reinforce the sinister impression that Akpabio is a willing tool in the hands of Tinubu was expressed but it was roundly ignored.

To address fears that sanctions against Ndume could trigger opposition from the North, it was suggested that the ruling party be dragged in to play the leading role, which was what eventually happened via the letter by Ganduje.

To confirm that the decision was taken by the APC, the Senate President made it clear when putting the question to vote as he simply asked those in support of the party’s position to vote ‘YES’ and it was so done.

Ndume’s removal, which happened barely six weeks after a former deputy majority leader of the Senate, Abdul Ningi, returned from a three-month suspension over remarks that were seen as aspersions on the image of the Senate, is attracting concerns from political observers who fear that sanctions for every voice of dissent could create impression of inability to tolerate opposing views.

The Coalition for Parliamentary Democracy (CPD), in a statement by its National Coordinator, Dr. Menike Johnson, noted that the sack of Ndume would wane the confidence of the majority of senators from speaking the truth to issues of national interest either on the floor or outside the precincts of the parliament.

“This development has introduced a crack on the walls of the Akpabio leadership. The leadership is always a bunch, and they act as one. Once a member is removed by impeachment, as it has happened in this Ndume scenario, it has always created a threat to the survival of the presiding officer, in this circumstance, Akpabio,” the group observed.

On his part, a former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, a chieftain of the ruling party, Salihu Lukman, faulted the process leading to Ndume’s removal.

He said: “In an ideal democratic setting where the organs of the party are functioning, a competent organ of the party would have been convened to deliberate on the issues raised by Sen. Ndume. In fact, if the organs of the party are functioning, instead of raising the issues in a television station, the issue would have been raised at a meeting of a competent organ of the party. Such a competent organ would have been the National Caucus, National Executive Committee (NEC) or National Advisory Council. Rule of fair hearing would have required that Sen. Ndume or anybody making such weighty allegations is invited and called upon to explain. The truth is, if organs of the party were functioning, the problem of lack of access to the President wouldn’t have arisen.

“Somehow, the letter directing the removal of Sen. Ndume confirmed the allegations of a government of ‘Kakistocrat’. Dr. Ganduje and Sen. Ajibola, and perhaps, a small group of party leaders who have caged the President usurped the powers of organs of the APC and proceeded to pass judgment on Sen. Ndume. It is very doubtful if members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party are given the benefit of being part of those who took the decision to remove Sen. Ndume as the Chief Whip of the Senate. It is also doubtful if members of the APC Caucus in the Senate were consulted before the decision is taken to remove Sen. Ndume and appoint Sen. Monguno as his replacement. It is simply an action taken by party leaders with fanatical mindset of blocking any attempt to scrutinise the President and actions being taken either directly by him or by his representatives, in whatever guise.”

Lukman believes that beyond issues of fair hearing, the substantive allegation made by Sen. Ndume is that President Tinubu is inaccessible.

He added: “Those he refers to as ‘Kakistocrats’ and Kleptocrats have caged the President so much so that even ministers are not able to access him. These are not new allegations. The way the government is being managed is quite worrisome. Anybody who knows Asiwaju Tinubu and how he has operated throughout his political life will certainly know that it is unlike Asiwaju Tinubu to be insular. Many of the decisions taken betray the true Asiwaju Tinubu. For instance, it is doubtful if Asiwaju Tinubu as governor of Lagos State for eight years has had any instance of reversing any of the decisions he took. But as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the last one year, Nigerians are beginning to lose count of the number of decisions he took and ended up reversing them.”

The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), in its reaction, described the action of the Senate as a disaster for democracy.

The group pointed out that the action of the 10th Senate by shutting up a senator from expression of his opinion freely is dictatorial, despicable, and reprehensible, adding: “Nigerians should now see that we are sleepwalking into full-blown dictatorship and tyranny of a powerful president. This must be resisted and condemned outright.”

Speaking further, the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said: “This is a degeneration of democracy and we are headed for totalitarianism such as the type we see in Rwanda.

“This political trajectory is being orchestrated by the unelected national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, which should be seen for what it is. What is disloyalty in Senator Ali Ndume expressing his personal opinion on the state of food insecurity and national security?

“The Nigerian constitution of 1999 as amended provides for the right to freedom of expression, and why should the All Progressives Congress undermine the constitutional right to freedom of expression? In the United Kingdom and the U.S., where we copied the system of government and the democracy we practise, individuals in the Congress and Parliament are allowed to express their opinions on how the government should work.”

Similarly, the Concerned Northern Forum (CNF), in a press statement signed by its Coordinator, Mallam Abdulkadir Kura, said it stands with Ndume because he has courage in defending the masses.

Kura insisted that Ndume has spoken the minds of average Nigerians who have been under serious economic hardship since the removal of the fuel subsidy and other anti-people policies of the present administration.

The group also called on all and sundry to resort to prayers for God Almighty to have mercy on the land and rescue Nigerians from the clutches of ‘hunger and insecurity’ that have characterised the whole system.

Kura said: “We members of CNF deem it necessary to address some of the issues that surrounded the interview Senator Ndume had with Arise TV last Thursday. In that interview, Ndume came clear without recourse to political affiliation and said nothing but the truth.

“Although this was not the first time the Chief Whip criticised or challenged policies of the Federal Government, as he has done so consistently during the past administration of former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, such criticisms by Ndume have led to positive changes by the listening governments at that time.

“Currently, it is true that millions of Nigerians cannot even have two square meals a day due to exorbitant prices of food items such as common garri, maize, tomatoes etc, and most importantly, people cannot sleep with their two eyes closed due to insecurity, such as kidnapping, banditry, terrorism among other criminalities in the land.

“We, however, found it unfortunate and condemnable that some people, particularly those who have been milking from the national cake under the present administration join forces in attacking Ndume’s truthful and realistic statement on the current situation in the land.”

Will Ndume be cowed by his removal? Will he become a ‘yes man’ in the Senate and his party henceforth? That is not likely to happen given his antecedents.

For instance, he became very critical of the Saraki-led Senate and also his former allies in the ‘Like Minds Senators’ forum after his ouster in 2017. He went to the point of relying on unsubstantiated publications by an online newspaper to call on the Senate to investigate allegations of importing a bullet proof range rover with fake documents involving Senate President Bukola Saraki and that of perjury involving Senator Dino Melaye.

The Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges then chaired by Samuel Anyanwu investigated the matter reported that Ndume failed to conduct proper investigation before making “the allegations.” The committee recommended that he be suspended for 181 legislative days (one year) but following appeals by some senators, he was suspended for six months instead.

Ndume returned from the suspension with an unapologetic stand. He continued to voice out his views strongly.

Even in the 9th Senate, led by Ahmad Lawan, he was a very critical voice. In the last days of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, Ndume’s voice was heard against approval by the Senate for the N30 trillion Ways and Means without details on how the money was spent.

From every indication there is activism in Ndume’s blood. Where it will take him remains to be seen as his political career continues to unfold.