The Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has claimed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is unaware of the events happening outside the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Ndume, representing Borno South senatorial district, made this assertion during a press conference at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ndume expressed frustration over the administration’s lack of significant steps to address ongoing security issues and other critical challenges facing the nation. He suggested that President Tinubu has been “trapped and confined” by specific groups, isolating him from the realities faced by the public.
“Mr. President is not in the picture of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been fenced off and caged. So many of us won’t go through the backdoor to engage him,” Ndume stated.
He further criticized the administration’s response to the food crisis, emphasizing the public’s dissatisfaction with the government’s inability to address poverty, insecurity, and hunger. “The government is not doing anything about the food scarcity and it needs to do something urgently. We don’t have a food reserve. There is an unavailability of food. The food crisis is the worst crisis that any nation can encounter. If we add that to the security crisis, it will be severe,” he added.
Ndume called on President Tinubu to become more accessible and to listen to those who will tell him the truth about the nation’s challenges. “The President should wake up; it seems he isn’t in the picture of what is happening because he has been caged off. He has been fenced off by plutocrats. He should open his doors and meet those who will tell him the truth,” Ndume urged.
He also highlighted the government’s struggle to resolve the farmer-herder crisis, pointing out that efforts have been influenced by ethnic biases. In a conversation with BBC Hausa, Ndume noted that even some ministers find it difficult to have discussions with President Tinubu about pressing issues.
“The major problem with this government is that its doors are closed, to the extent that even some ministers cannot see the President, not to mention members of the National Assembly, who do not have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss the issues affecting their constituencies,” Ndume remarked.
