The ruling All Progressives Congress has begun consultations with the leadership of the Senate to facilitate the reinstatement of Senator Ali Ndume as the Chief Whip.
The move comes one month after Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District, was relieved of the position for repeated public criticisms of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC.
The Borno lawmaker claimed that the President had been caged and shielded from feeling the hardships Nigerians were passing through, an action that irked the ruling party.
Ndume was immediately replaced by the senator representing Borno North, Tahir Monguno, following a directive issued to that effect in a letter written by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Basiru Ajibola.
The request was put to voice votes by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and loudly affirmed by all the APC senators.
Last Tuesday, a sober-looking Ndume told journalists after a two-hour closed-door meeting with the National Working Committee in Abuja that he had tendered an unreserved apology to the APC.
Confirming the development, the APC National Chairman, Ganduje, said Ndume’s apology was accepted, describing the situation as a family affair.
“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,” Ganduje said.
Three days after the meeting, a source at the party secretariat, who craved anonymity, told our reporter that the party had opened discussions with the leadership of the Senate to review Ndume’s removal as the Chief Whip.
“Just as the national chairman stated on Tuesday, the APC has begun consultation with the Senate leadership. As he rightly said the other day, it is a family issue,” the source said.
When contacted, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, confirmed the ongoing consultation, which, he said, might not necessarily be conducted in public.
Duru, however, said the onus was on the Senate leadership to decide if it was the right call.
According to him, the APC is a law-abiding party that is willing to welcome back prodigal and erring members once they are willing to retrace their steps and abide by the party’s Constitution.
He said, “It is for us to recommend to the Senate to do the needful. I believe they are all party members who respect the APC. It is on account of that, when the party felt there was something wrong in the way he addressed the public without allowing the party to hear him out, that we took the steps that we took.
“But he has realised his mistake and came to the party to admit that he should have first discussed it with the APC before going public. In the end, the party looked at it and then had a handshake with him. So it is important that having had that handshake, in the wisdom of the national chairmen of the party, that he communicates to the leadership of the Senate just as we did in the first instance.
“There will be many backdoor consultations and discussions that would address all the parties concerned for the important thing to be done, not just on the surface of it. The APC is a party that is law-abiding and motivates for consensus. You know Ndume is a ranking member of the party and well respected too. That was why we embraced him with a golden handshake and the meeting ended in a convivial atmosphere.”
The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, said the move to have Ndume reinstated as the Senate Chief Whip was not strange as the executive and legislative arms were free to reshuffle and reassign portfolios as they deem fit.
“Why not? Of course, there is nothing strange there. This is an in-house thing. Even in the executive arm of the government, a cabinet reshuffle is normal. The legislature can also reshuffle and reassign portfolios. Nobody has an entitlement to any position. It is at the discretion of the leader of the House or the Senate to assign portfolios to people they think can run the office to satisfaction.
“In any case, Ndume is a senior senator for that matter. There is nothing wrong if the Senate finds him good for that position. I don’t think there is any law that says he cannot be reinstated. Moreover, this is one Senate that is trying to be as rancour-free as possible under the leadership of Godswill Akpabio.
“So, I am sure if they feel the need to reinstate him, all the necessary consultations will be made to ensure that it is done in a way that will not create any hitch. This is my belief. He apologised and the party accepted his apology. So it’s an in-house thing. It is a problem within the family that can always be resolved without necessarily going for an intermediary.
“So I believe the party will put in place all the necessary things that need to be done for him to be reinstated. That is not my place to say. It is the discretion of the Senate and the discretion of the party,” Ibrahim said.
