Indications emerged on Wednesday that the Senate may soon reinstate Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume as the Majority Whip.
Ndume was recently stripped of the position following his disparaging comment against the party and the present administration.
A source close to the leadership of the Senate who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “If the Senate receives a directive from the party to reinstate Ndume, it will be considered. Ndume was removed as Senate Majority Chief Whip on the prompting of the party.”
Ndume had on Tuesday 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 was replaced by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno following a letter by the ruling party to sanction him for his unguarded statement against the President.
In the letter jointly signed by APC national chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, APC directed the Upper Chamber to sanction Ndume for deliberately failing to utilise the party’s machinery to vent his anger before going public, despite being a senior member and lawmaker of the ruling party.
In an interview with Arise Television, Ndume alleged that President Tinubu was held captive by forces in the Presidential Villa, saying they were feeding the President with lies and shielding him from selfless Nigerians who could tell him the truth.
His criticism led to his removal as a principal officer of the National Assembly and a committee chairman.
Addressing reporters after a meeting with APC’s National Working Committee (NWC), Ndume said his comments which were considered offensive were patriotically motivated.
“Whatever I said or whatever I did was out of patriotism,” he said.
He added: “Yesterday (Monday), I was invited by the party and here I am to discuss family matters. Actually, the national chairman is not just a national chairman to me but a father.
“With what has happened, which you are all aware of, it is not surprising that I am invited to hear my own side and we had family discussions.
“I actually accepted the mistake of not talking to the party as a last point and I promised the party that all my observations as a senior member of the family should have terminated or ended with the party.
“That is something, moving forward. But whatever I said or whatever I did was out of patriotism and those issues, maybe said strongly, but they are true. But then, I should have talked to the party as the last bus stop.”
On his part, Ganduje had said the party would convey Ndume’s apology to the Senate, adding: “When we do that, we hope they can review their position.”
Ganduje had said: “We are quite satisfied with his apology. Like he said, we invited him, and you know the party is the father of everybody.
“As a party, we are free to invite legislators. We are free to invite members of the executive, and we are even free to invite all the appointed party members in the government.
“So, it is a family issue. We needed to resolve it. We are writing to the National Assembly, conveying what has transpired between Senator Ndume and the party.
“You know he apologized to the party. We will convey the same issue to the National Assembly. When we do that, we hope they can review their position.”
