The ruling All Progressives Congress has told the former Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, to always send private advice to the president of the country, Bola Tinubu, in a private manner rather than sending public advice aimed at criticising the government.
The new advice was provided by the National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, while journalists responded to interview questions. He noted that the Borno governor should take caution with the comments being made towards the admi nustrion despite the freedom of speech that is guaranteed in the country.
In a recent recent statement Ali Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, had called on the President to tackle the hardship suffered by citizens before it was too late.
According to the statement released by the APC member on Friday, the senator claimed that the president has kept some bad actors close to his goverenmt who were responsible for pushing harmful reforms and policies which are aimed at destabilising the government.
He noted that the individuals have the assignment of making the president look bad which have initiated the idea of inflicting pains on Nigerainas through the polices that have been thought to be reforms, he noted that the bad polices have always been blamed on the president of the country.
He went on to tell the present to look into the level of suffering that is being experienced by the people which has been caused by the hyperinflation, which has been worsened by the frequent price hikes of essential goods and services.
Ndume has been in the middle of criticism of the government in the past months it has led to the APC writing to the Senate to relieve him of his position as the Senate Chief Whip over his relentless public criticisms of President Tinubu and the ruling APC, a party to which he belongs.
It was speculated that the former senate official had rendered his apologies after the incident with the request that he should be restored as the Chief Whip. The Senate has yet to restore Ndume as the Chief Whip.
The APC publicity secretary on Sunday nited that Ndume needed to speak with caution about the activities of the government which may lead him into more troubles if he continues.
The publicity secretary explained that in a democracy, people have the right to own opinions and ventilate their positions without anyone suppressing them. He continues by stating that Ali Ndume is one of the President’s advisers at large. According to him, if anyone happens to belong to the same party as the President, he or she must share certain things with him because he or she is working on the policies or agenda of the party.
He categorised Ndume as a senior party member, a legislator and former Chief whip for that matter; Ndume is an adviser by extension to all the leaders in our party. He therefore noted that, he has ways of reaching out to the president and other office also in private without necessarily going public.
He claimed that such comments may instigate the followers of the party leader, which may cause more problems in the country.
He noted that many people hold Ndume in high esteem, which calls for caution in his utterances about government activities. He also noted that the leader should be cautious about his words being misquoted by different individuals in the country. He noted that the party will make appropriate decisions on the sanctions that will be given to the party members if need be.
Three months ago, the political leader claimed that president Tinubu was caged and prevented from knowing the hardships Nigerians were passing through, an action that irked the ruling party. The statement led to his removal as the Chief Whip of the senate with the reasons of him ebarassing the president on a national TV.
After his removal, he was replaced by the Senator representing Borno North, Tahir Monguno following a directive issued to that effect in a letter written by the National Chairman of the party, Umar Ganduje and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
The request for his removal was made public in the house by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and loudly affirmed by all the APC senators.
Ali Ndume had told journalists in Abuja two months ago that he had apologised to the party after a two-hour meeting was held behind closed doors at the instance of the APC National Working Committee in Abuja
