Former Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has said that he was never told by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to drop his ambition to be Senate President in the ninth assembly.
The duo met at Prof. Osinbajo’s office on April 8.
In a statement on Thursday signed by the Senator himself, Ndume said his meeting with Osinbajo was centred on his routine briefing to the Vice President on humanitarian issues in the North East as it concerns Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and orphanages.
Ndume is aspiring to be Senate President against the ruling party’s wish to have Senator Ahmed Lawan occupy the position.
Ndume said: “Osinbajo didn’t ask me to drop the idea of contesting the Senate Presidency. We only talked about IDPs, Orphanages and related matters.
“The truth is, it is usual for me to meet with the vice president to discuss issues of common interest, especially the humanitarian crisis in the northeast, of which the vice president has shown exceptional interest in helping out.
“Personally, l’m a committed Buharist. Whether I become the Senate President or not, I will continue to stand by him, defend his policies because I see him as a mentor.
“And I believe that Mr. President has nothing against my aspiration for the office of the Senate President because I sought his permission long before the general election and he gave me his go-ahead. I have not heard anything otherwise from him.”
