Ndume Cautions Tinubu over Defections, Endorsements ....... Accuses Presidential Aides of Deceiving Tinubu over Nigeria's Situations

 

The Former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, has asked President Bola Tinubu to be wary of various endorsement and defections in favour of his re-eelection bid in 2027.

This is coming after the 22 governors elected on the platform of the APC had last month unanimously adopted Tinubu as their candidate for the 2027 Presidential Poll.

Ndume, who issued the caution while speaking on a Television programme, insisted that he is not part of those who have endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term in office.

According to the Senator representing Borno South, former President Goodluck Jonathan was endorsed by 22 governors of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the 2015 Presiential poll but lost his re-election bid to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ndume explained that those endorsements usually do not resulted into victory during the polls as the eligible voters are more than the governors who publicly announced their backing.

The National Lawmaker added that he have stormed out of the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, after the governors endorsed the president for re-election.

“I was there but that was not why I was there.

“I was there for a summit and when I realised that it was not a summit and voice vote was put about the endorsement of Mr President, I just left, and that does not mean I am not an APC member.

“The majority had its way but few of us felt that was not right,” Ndume said.

He added: “It happened before, not once, not twice. It happened during Jonathan. That does not mean anything.

“Politicians are decamping but the people who are the voters are not decamping.

“Jonathan had 22 governors then endorsing him like was done now. And what happened? Jonathan lost woefully. A lot of money was spent. Even the election was shifted but we are not learning our lessons. I pity Mr President.”

Ndume also expressed concerns about President Bola Tinubu’s increasing disconnection from actual events and attributes the problem to the president’s close aides who, by polishing his image, prevent him from seeing the reality, saying many Nigerians are frustrated by the current pace of development.

“Things are not going the way they should, and even Mr. President has admitted that,” the Senator said.

“But what we keep hearing is that Nigerians should be patient. My question is—how long can people continue to endure?”

Ndume accused some of the president’s advisers of telling him only what he wants to hear, rather than providing honest assessments of the country’s problems.

“Those around him only feed him with what he wants to hear, not what is actually happening. Among his advisers, the only one I commend is Sunday Dare. He speaks the truth and understands Tinubu well because they’ve been together for years,” Ndume stated.

The senator did not mince words about the influence of unelected individuals who, he claims, have taken control of the administration’s direction.

He said there are people who have hijacked this government. They are the ones calling the shots. Only what they say gets done.

Despite his criticisms, Ndume made it clear that he bears no personal grudge against President Tinubu.

“I don’t have any problem with the President. He is my president. But if he does something that’s not right, I will point it out. That’s my responsibility,” he concluded.

He Tinubu may not know how bad things are in the country since he drives in cars with tinted glasses that do not allow him to see anything.

However, the Senator said even though the President had himself acknowledged that things were very difficult, not much was being done to help the people.

 “The president also is not pretending. He acknowledges there is hardship. He acknowledges that things are very difficult. Even recently he appealed that people should be patient with him.

“But the question is, for how long will we continue to be patient. Things are very difficult and so many things have not been done the way the people are expecting.

“To be honest with you, if you go back to the electorates today halfway they’re not happy. I see people lying, telling the President what he wants to hear or maybe some of them, he doesn’t even want to hear them.

“My position on the people surrounding the President is that they are deceiving him, damaging his image and doing more harm than good because the President cannot go out on the streets like myself and know how the people feel.

“Even outside the Villa they’d drive him in a tinted glass that he does not even see what’s going on.

“It is people like us that represent the public that you’ll listen to and you also get your intelligence from the people on ground. Things are bad, very bad in the country”, Ndume concluded