Ali Ndume, the immediate past Chief Whip of the Senate, issued a public apology on Tuesday to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for comments made during a live television interview that were seen as embarrassing to President Bola Tinubu.
The apology came a month after Ndume was removed from his position as Senate Chief Whip, following an interview with Arise TV in which he stated that Tinubu had been “caged” and was unaware of the hardships Nigerians were facing.
Ndume was quickly replaced by Senator Tahir Monguno, who represents Borno North, after a directive from the party’s National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
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After a two-hour closed-door meeting with the party’s National Working Committee at its Abuja secretariat, Ndume told journalists that while he had offered an unreserved apology to the party, he stood by the remarks he made during the interview.
Ndume said, “Yesterday, 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 with 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 as the last bus stop. Next time when I want to talk, I will come and get clearance or at least talk to the party.”
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When asked about the speculation that his membership was withdrawn by the ruling party, Ndume expressed surprise.
“My membership? No, I have not been expelled. Even the party did not say we don’t want you here because the party is my father. “The only thing the party said is that ‘If you don’t want this house, you can go to any house.’ But where will I go? This is my house,” he added.
Ganduje also confirmed to journalists that Ndume had apologized and expressed regret over the incident.
The APC national chairman further disclosed that the party plans to write to the Senate leadership, requesting that they reconsider their decision to remove Ndume as Chief Whip, with the aim of reinstating him.
Ganduje said, “We are quite satisfied with his apology. As he said, we invited him. As a party, the APC is the father of everybody. We are free to invite legislators, members of the executive and even all appointed party members in the government. That is why we decided to come together.
“It is a family issue and we need to resolve it. We are writing to the National Assembly to convey what has transpired between Senator Ndume and the party. As you are aware, he has apologised to the party with the hope that they can review their position.”
