Kakistocrats, kleptocrats surround Tinubu – Ali Ndume
Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South in the National Assembly, has doubled down on his assertion that President Bola Tinubu has kakistocrats and kleptocrats in his administration.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, 26th August, Ndume said that though he is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, he was morally bound to stand on the side of truth.
“My concern remains that the President has so many kakistocrats dominating the Presidency. Unless he does something about it, they will continue to mess him up,” he said.
Explaining his position, Ndume stated: “We had a fake agency operating with an office, and after the ICPC investigated, they discovered even more. A Permanent Secretary in the Presidency had to be suspended. That is where I give the President credit, but I insist that if he had capable hands, all this mess and embarrassment wouldn’t be happening. He is still not taking the appropriate action on it.”
The ranking senator condemned the approach adopted by Aso Rock in responding to criticisms of the Tinubu administration. He said insulting critics rather than addressing issues raised about government policies was wrong.
“We are saying that the staff or people he has around him are the major problem. Instead of talking about ideas and events, they have small minds and talk about people. When anybody makes a statement, the President’s spokespersons rush to TV to insult the person and call them names. That is not it. You take the points that persons made about the system one after the other,” he said.
According to him, this happens because there are too many unqualified personnel in the Presidency undermining the administration. He warned that unless they were stopped, they would continue with their inappropriate behaviour.
He said he doubted whether the APC Presidential Campaign Council, of which he is a member, would be able to deliver the votes needed for the President to win the 2027 election.
“People put up the Presidential Campaign Committee. If I had the ear of Mr. President, there was no need for a presidential campaign committee. Instead, what is the party doing? The President is the product of the party. The owner of a product should be the one selling the product, not the product selling itself. Yes, I disagree. He shouldn’t be on it; it should be the National Chairman of the party.”
The senator indicated that the President may not have been in charge of selecting members of the campaign council, judging by the complaints that followed its announcement.
“From what happened, you can see that even the President was not fully aware. Why would there be complaints? I’ll give you an example. It seemed he wasn’t aware, because if he were aware, there wouldn’t have been complaints. I know the man. But why am I worried? It’s not about my party; it’s about politics in Nigeria.”
On the performance of the Tinubu administration, Ndume said: “The performance of this administration, when you look at it in context, is that the President has expressed himself and genuinely wanted to confront difficult issues. He has taken very difficult decisions, and it is painful to Nigerians – that is the greatest part of it now. Take two examples: on the day he was sworn in, he removed the fuel subsidy. I was surprised, but many Nigerians support the removal of the oil subsidy.
“However, the consequences and effects are the major problem against the APC now, because it brought hardship to the people. The President himself acknowledged that there is hardship as a result of the policies, but promised Nigerians that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Nigerians are very anxious and waiting, and some are even saying there is no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.”
Speaking on the 2027 polls, Ndume said: “My advice to the opposition is to focus on the policies and performance of the government, put down your alternative policy agenda, and convince Nigerians that it is workable. It’s not enough to say you are removing or bringing back the subsidy.
“The APC is saying that the returns on these policies take time and won’t happen overnight. People are going to suffer, like treating malaria with a bitter pill or a painful injection that has side effects. But if you complete the dose, you get cured. In Nigeria, Nigerians have to decide. The APC should concentrate on explaining to Nigerians what our government is doing, rather than abusing people.”
Pointing to divisions within the opposition, Senator Ndume cited the differing positions of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi on the fuel subsidy, saying the coalition was yet to fully align.
