Again, Ndume criticises Tinubu, says president’s advisers are misleading him

Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has said President Bola Tinubu’s special advisers are misleading him to take actions that are increasing hardship in the country.

Mr Ndume, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the president, stressed that some of the advisers of the president do not mean well for Nigerians, the reason they continue to offer wrong advice to the president.

The senator disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

“I personally believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu means well for Nigeria and Nigerians. I know this because I know what he stands for. But some of his advisers who don’t mean well for the people of this country give him wrong advice,” he said.

Mr Ndume, who was removed as Senate chief whip in July for criticising President Tinubu, urged him to ignore advice from his aides, especially advice on economic reforms causing high cost of living.

“I’m appealing to him to resist these bad people who want to pitch the people against his administration.”

Unbearable hardship

The senator stressed that the hardship Nigerians are experiencing is becoming unbearable.

He said many families in his state can no longer feed themselves because of the high cost of living and that farmers can no longer go to their farms because of the high cost of transportation.

Due to the increasing hardship, the senator noted, many people in his state are angry and already frustrated.

“The hardship these people are inflicting on Nigerians is becoming unbearable. I’m currently in Borno, and I know what I’m talking about. People are really suffering, hungry, frustrated and angry.

“In Borno State here, many families can’t even feed anymore. The untold hardship of these frequent increases in the prices is unimaginable. Farmers can not even move their farm products anymore because of the high cost of transportation.

“Those who can still do this add the cost of transportation to the prices of food items they sell, and that’s why many people can’t feed again. People can’t travel anymore. To travel by road from Abuja to Maiduguri, for instance, is a fortune. How many of our people can afford that?,” he asked.

Advisers destroying Nigeria

Mr Ndume urged president Tinubu to stay away from some of his advisers because the advice they’re offering is targeted at destroying the country.

“I know that President Tinubu means well for Nigerians, and therefore he should not stay back and allow a few bad advisers to destroy this country. That’s why I’m begging him to do something before it is too late. It is not good to test the patience of Nigerians, and that’s exactly what these bad advisers are doing.

“As soon as the President returns to Nigeria, I urge him to look into these issues and address them urgently. The purchasing power of Nigerians is too poor, and they can’t afford the things that are being pushed on them every day by enemies of the state,” he added.

Previous criticisms

This is the fourth time Mr Ndume will be criticising Mr Tinubu’s administration especially on the economic reforms.

The last was in July when the senator said President Tinubu was “caged” in the Presidential Villa and that some forces are preventing well meaning people from physically discussing the truth with him that Nigerians are hungry.

He was removed as Senate chief whip in July for criticising President Tinubu after the upper chamber received a letter from the APC requesting his removal.

Shortly after, Mr Ndume criticised the new N70,000 minimum wage approved by President Tinubu for Nigerian workers, saying it cannot sustain a household because it can only buy 50kg of rice.

In August, the senator met with the APC national leadership for two hours at the party’s secretariat after which he apologised over his comment on President Tinubu.

“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 within the party. That is something that (will be corrected) moving forward. But whatever I said or did was out of patriotism.

“Those issues may have been said strongly, but they are true. Again, I should have talked to the party at the last bus stop. Next time when I want to talk, I will come and get clearance or at least talk to the party,” he said at the time.

It is unclear if he sought clearance from the party before his latest statement on Friday.