Former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, has apologised to the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for not consulting the party before publicly criticising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Ndume, who represents Borno South in the National Assembly, maintains that his comments were made out of patriotism.

“Yesterday, I was invited by the party, and here I am to discuss family matters related to recent events which you are all aware of. The national chairman is not just a chairman to me but a father,” Ndume said. “It is not surprising that I was invited to share my side, and we had family discussions. I accepted my mistake of not consulting the party as a final step and promised that all my observations, as a senior member of the family, should have ended with the party. But whatever I said or did was out of patriotism and may have been strong, but they are true. However, I should have talked to the party as the last stop.”

The senator was removed and replaced by Senator Mohammed Monguno following a letter from the ruling party directing the National Assembly to sanction Ndume for his unguarded statements against the President. The letter, signed by APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje and National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru, criticised Ndume for not using party channels to express his grievances before going public.

In an interview with BBC Hausa Service, Ndume alleged that President Tinubu was being misled by forces within the Presidential Villa, who were feeding him lies and shielding him from selfless Nigerians who could tell him the truth. His criticism led to his removal from his position as a principal officer in the National Assembly and as a committee chairman.