Former Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, issued a public apology to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday for remarks made about President Bola Tinubu during a live television interview.
His apology comes a month after he was removed from his position following statements made on Arise TV, where he claimed that Tinubu was being kept unaware of the difficulties faced by Nigerians.
In response to Ndume’s comments, the Senate swiftly replaced him with Senator Tahir Monguno, who represents Borno North. The directive for his replacement was issued in a letter from the APC’s National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
After a two-hour private meeting with members of the APC’s National Working Committee at the party’s secretariat in Abuja, Ndume addressed journalists, acknowledging his mistake of not consulting with the party before making his public statements. He expressed regret but stood by his earlier remarks, clarifying that they were made out of patriotism.
Ndume stated, “Yesterday, I was invited by the party and here I am to discuss family matters. Actually, the national chairman is not just a chairman to me but also a father. With what has happened, it is not surprising that I was invited to hear my side and we had a family discussion. I accepted the mistake of not talking to the party as a last point and I told the party that all my observations as a senior member of the family should have terminated or ended with the party. That is something that will be corrected moving forward. But whatever I said or did was out of patriotism.”
He continued, “Those issues may have been said strongly but they are true. Again, I should have talked to the party as the last bus stop. Next time when I want to talk, I will come and get clearance or at least talk to the party.”
Addressing speculation about his membership status within the party, Ndume expressed surprise and clarified that he had not been expelled. He remarked, “My membership? No, I have not been expelled. Even the party did not say we don’t want you here because the party is my father. The only thing the party said is that ‘If you don’t want this house, you can go to any house.’ But where will I go? This is my house.”
Regarding whether he intends to apologize to the President and the Senate, Ndume stated that the President had not taken offense and emphasized that his comments were not meant to insult either the President or the party.
APC National Chairman Ganduje confirmed Ndume’s apology and stated that the party is considering writing to the Senate leadership to request a review of Ndume’s removal from the Chief Whip position. He noted, “We are quite satisfied with his apology. As he said, we invited him. As a party, the APC is the father of everybody. We are free to invite legislators, members of the executive and even all appointed party members in the government. That is why we decided to come together.”
Ganduje concluded, “It is a family issue and we need to resolve it. We are writing to the National Assembly to convey what has transpired between Senator Ndume and the party. As you are aware, he has apologised to the party with the hope that they can review their position.”
