PUNCH
The ruling All Progressives Congress has begun consultations with the leadership of the Senate to facilitate the reinstatement of Senator Ali Ndume as the Chief Whip.
The move comes one month after Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District, was relieved of the position for repeated public criticisms of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC.
The Borno lawmaker claimed that the President had been caged and shielded from feeling the hardships Nigerians were passing through, an action that irked the ruling party.
Ndume was immediately replaced by the senator representing Borno North, Tahir Monguno, following a directive issued to that effect in a letter written by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Basiru Ajibola.
The request was put to voice votes by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and loudly affirmed by all the APC senators.
Last Tuesday, a sober-looking Ndume told journalists after a two-hour closed-door meeting with the National Working Committee in Abuja that he had tendered an unreserved apology to the APC.
Confirming the development, the APC National Chairman, Ganduje, said Ndume’s apology was accepted, describing the situation as a family affair.