Former Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume Says He May Dump APC

Former Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, says he may leave the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, if President Bola Tinubu fails to perform creditably in the country. 

Ali Ndume, representing Borno south, spoke on Arise Television programme “Prime Time,” on Tuesday, adding that,

he had attended several meetings of the opposition leaders seeking to form a coalition to unseat Tinubu in 2027.

Ndume, who has been critical of the president of late, further noted that, he had been hesitant to join the coalition with the belief that Tinubu could still fix Nigeria.

His words, “I’m aware of the opposition coalition. I went to several of their meetings. I still believe this president can fix these things, but failure might cause me to move. The overloaded ship will sink.

“They have been making overtures, but I told them I don’t want to jump from the frying pan into the fire. I have to be sure.

“I believe that Tinubu can be a successful president; that was my expectation, but if he continues this way, that ship, whether you load in other people or governors, you are just endangering the APC, pushing it towards capsizing.

“As the president said, there is a vacancy in the ship. But if you overload the ship, it will probably capsize, and if it capsizes, you lose everybody.”

The former Senate Chief Whip criticised the motivations behind some defections to the ruling APC, noting however, that they were being driven by “indirect stick-and-carrot politics” and not on principles.

According to him, “Most people are not joining (APC) based on principles but due to the indirect stick-and-carrot politics. And that is not healthy at all.” 

Ndume was removed from this position as Chief Whip on July 17, 2024, by the APC Senate Caucus, following critical comments he made about Tinubu's administration. He had expressed concerns about the government's handling of hunger and insecurity in the country, stating that the President was "caged" and not fully aware of the issues facing Nigerians.

Apart from removal as chief whip, Ndume was reassigned from his role as Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation to Chairman of the Committee on Tourism, which he later rejected due to lack of experience.

He was replaced as chief whip by Senator Tahir Monguno.

Ndume later then, apologized to the APC for his comments, stating that he should have addressed his concerns within the party rather than publicly.