Senate Removes Ali Ndume as Chief Whip, Vice Chairman of Appropriation Committee, Escapes Suspension

In a dramatic turn of events, Senator Ali Ndume was removed as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation and replaced with Senator Tahir Monguno from Borno North. This decision came after Ndume’s controversial statement in a recent interview, where he alleged that President Tinubu was “not in the picture” of what’s happening outside the Villa and referred to lawmakers as “cleptomaniacs”.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, put the motion to a voice vote, and the majority of senators voted to relieve Ndume of his position. Instead, he will now chair the Committee on Tourism.

Shortly after, Senator Fasuyi Cyril from Ekiti North raised a point of order, calling for punitive measures against Ndume over his “cleptomaniacs” comment. However, the senators voted against referring the matter to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, and instead chose to move on to other business.

The Senate went into a closed-door session to discuss “issues of national importance” and later resumed without addressing Ndume’s matter further. Akpabio stated that the lawmakers had discussed important national issues during the closed session and proceeded with the day’s business.

This development comes after Ndume’s removal as Chief Whip of the 10th Senate earlier in the day. Despite the controversy, Ndume escaped suspension from the Red Chambers.