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The ruling All Progressives Congress has called on the former Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, to stop criticising President Bola Tinubu government and it's policies or actions publicly.
The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, made this statement on Sunday.
He said while everyone had the right of public opinion in a democratic society, bigwig like Ndume should seek to weigh his words before going public.
Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, had called on the President to tackle the hardship suffered by citizens before it was too late.
In a statement released in Abuja, Ndume had claimed that certain bad actors close to Tinubu were responsible for pushing harmful reforms and policies which are aimed at destabilising the government and affecting the citizens adversely.
“Those who are bent on making the President look bad will stop at nothing in inflicting pain on Nigerians through the so-called reforms until things get out of hand, and the blame will be on President Tinubu,” he stated.
Ndume also urged Tinubu administration to address the suffering caused by inflation with it resultant effects on the prices of goods and services.
Ndume’s latest intervention comes only months after the APC wrote the Senate to relieve him of his position as the Senate Chief Whip over his relentless public criticisms of President Tinubu and the ruling APC, a party to which he belongs.
He would later apologise and was pardoned by the APC, but has not yet being restored as the Chief Whip.
APC National Publicity Director, Ibrahim, said Ndume needed to tread with caution.
He said, “In a democracy, people have the right to own opinion and ventilate their positions without anyone suppressing it. Ali Ndume is one of the President’s advisers at large. If you happen to belong to the same party as the President, you must share certain things with him because he is working on the policies or agenda of the party.
“As a senior party member, a legislator and former Chief whip for that matter, Ndume is an adviser by extension to all the leaders in our party. Therefore, he has ways of reaching out to them in private without necessarily going public. People must take note of their position and the fact that they have followers who will go to an extent to assess them based on what they say or do.
“Many people hold Ndume in high esteem. So he must always weigh his words for fear of being misquoted or misinterpreted. But I want to believe he is doing so in good faith. Whether the APC is disappointed or will consider any sanction in a decision to be taken by the party.”
The development comes three months after Ndume was relieved of the Chief Whip position for embarrassing the President on a live programme on Arise TV.
The Borno lawmaker claimed that Tinubu had been caged and prevented from knowing the hardships Nigerians were passing through, an action that irked the ruling party.
He was immediately replaced by the Senator representing Borno North, Tahir Monguno following a directive issued to that effect in a letter written by the National Chairman of the party, Umar Ganduje and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
