“Senate Becoming a Puppet in Tinubu’s Hands”: Atiku Reacts to Ndume’s Removal
- Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over the removal of Ali Ndume as the Senate chief whip
- The former vice president described the leadership of the senate under Bola Tinubu's government as reckless
- Atiku, however, called for a reform of the National Assembly, while accusing the lawmakers of neglecting public concerns and becoming subservient to executive authority
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Atiku Abubakar, the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, has described the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, as an enabler of executive recklessness of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led executive.
Source: Facebook
He made this statement while reacting to the removal of Senator Ali Ndume as the Senate’s Chief Whip.
Recall that Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South, was sacked on Wednesday, July 17, as the Chief Whip of the Senate following his criticism of Tinubu's administration.
This came after Ndume claimed Tinubu had been caged and unaware of the hardship and hunger in the country, a remark condemned by some lawmakers.
Following his remark, the ruling APC wrote to the Senate and asked Ndume to resign as a member of the party.
Ndume’s removal: Atiku faults Senate
In a swift reaction to the development, Atiku compared Ndume's case to a similar punishment meted on Senator Abdul Ningi.
In a post shared on his X page on Thursday, July 18, Atiku said Ndume’s case and similar punishment meted on Senator Ningi for similar actions earlier in the year only point to the fact that “concerns of the people stand in the nadir of priority list of the legislature.”
Speaking further, Atiku said there is a need for a collective voice of reasoning to impress on the National Assembly to stop and live up to its mandate, Daily Trust reported.
Atiku tweeted:
"Regrettably, however, the democracy in Nigeria in the current administration of President Bola Tinubu has become an anathema to that general principle of democracy as providing primary protection for the people against executive excesses.
"This ugly tendency is being manifested by the steady posturing of our National Assembly, especially the Senate, of taking a reverse course in its core function and becoming a puppet in the hands of the President.
"It is uncharitable that whenever members of the Senate stand on the floor of the red chamber to perform their statutory duty of calling the executive to order, they are immediately reprimanded for so doing."
Senate rejects move to sanction Ndume
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the move by the Senate refused to discipline Ali Ndume over his comment against federal lawmaker.
The Senate dismissed the motion to penalise Ndume for calling his colleagues "kleptomaniacs" in an interview, following the decision of some lawmakers.
At the moment, the embattled former chief whip has not reacted to the latest decision against him by Godwin Akpabio-led Senate.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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