By Abiola Olawale
Senator Ali Ndume, the lawmaker representing Borno South senatorial district of Borno State at the Senate has broken his silence on his removal as the Chief Whip of the Senate.
The Senator in his first open reaction said the action of his colleagues was unjustifiable. According to him, the Senate decided to punish him for speaking the truth.
The New Diplomat reports that Ndume was removed as the senate chief whip after his criticism of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government’s handling of the nation.
He was replaced by his fellow Borno State Senator, Sen. Mohammed Monguno. Monguno is the lawmaker representing Borno North senatorial district of Borno State in the Senate.
Monguno also replaced Ndume as the Deputy Chairman, of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, while Ndume was redeployed to chair the Committee on Tourism.
Speaking with the press in his country home of Maiduguri on Friday, Ndume said he has declined the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Tourism.
He said that he lacks the experience and exposure to lead such a sensitive group.
The federal lawmaker added that he never wanted to be a senate whip after serving as the leader in the eight Senate.
The Senator said he was given the chance to choose which committee to serve as the vice chairman having successfully led the campaigns that brought about the emergence of Godwill Akpabio as president of the Senate.
On the charge to resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC), the senator said he is a founding member of the party.
According to him, he was one of the twenty-two senators from the PDP that formed the APC when the current national chairman of the party Abdullahi Ganduje was a deputy governor in Kano State.
He, however, stated that when former President Muhammadu Buhari in the company of President Bola Tinubu ordered him to sign a document to join APC at the Imo House in Abuja, he informed his people before going public as such, he would consult his people before deciding on whether to leave the APC or not.
