The Senate has removed Senator Ali Ndume as the chief whip following his latest remarks against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
His replacement followed a directive issued to that effect in a letter written by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Umar Ganduje and national secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
The request was put to voice votes on Wednesday by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and loudly affirmed by all the APC senators.
He was replaced with Senator Tahir Monguno.
APC has the majority in the Senate.
Last week, Ndume criticised Tinubu while speaking with journalists at the National Assembly complex, saying: “Mr President is not in the picture of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been fenced off and caged. Many of us won’t go through the backdoor to engage him.
“Now, they have stopped him from talking, and he doesn’t have public affairs managers, except for his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press statements. Nigerians are getting very angry.
“The government is not doing anything about food scarcity, and it needs to act urgently. We don’t have food reserves. A food crisis is the worst crisis any nation can encounter. If we add that to the security crisis, it will be severe.
“The president should wake up. It seems he isn’t in the picture of what is happening because he has been caged off by plutocrats. He should open his doors and meet those who will tell him the truth.
“Unfortunately, the people who will tell him the truth won’t struggle to meet him. I am very worried, not only for the president himself but for myself.”
