By Uche Amunike
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, representing Bornu South under the aegis of the All Progressive Congress (APC), has stated that President Bola Tinubu has been fenced off and caged by certain forces in the Presidential Villa, making him completely unaware of the current situation that Nigerians are grappling with in the country.
Speaking, to Newsmen, Wednesday, at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, Ndume expressed his concerns about the manner in which the president has not been able to take any worthy action to address the security challenges facing the country.
He noted that Nigerians are continuously frustrated by the federal government’s perceived failure to tackle hunger, poverty, insecurity and economic decline among other pressing issues.
His words: ‘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.’
Senator Ali Ndume also harped on the need for the federal government to tackle food scarcity, because the unavailability of food could most likely exacerbate the current crisis. He noted that the government was not taking any measures to alleviate the problem of food scarcity, especially as they know that the country does not have food reserves. He stressed that the worst crisis any country can encounter is a food crisis, maintaining that if it is added to the security crisis, the results would be severe.
He further appealed to the president to be more aware of the realities of the situation being faced by Nigerians and open his doors to the people who will tell him the truth.
Hear him: ‘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,’ he added.
He however stated: ‘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.’
When he was questioned about the problem of farmer-herder crisis in the country, Ali Ndume told newsmen that stakeholders were not being sincere in tackling the problem. He categorically stated that contributions made so far have been driven by ethnic sentiments.
He was earlier engaged in an interview with the BBC Hausa on Wednesday, where he stated that the Bola Tinubu-led administration has been unable to address these issues, therefore making it a significant challenge.
Ndume also alleged that some ministers found it difficult to meet with President Bola Tinubu to discuss important matters affecting the country, how much more, members of the National Assembly.
His words: ‘The major problem with this government is that its doors are closed, to the extent that even some ministers cannot see the President, not to mention members of the National Assembly, who do not have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss the issues affecting their constituencies.’
