Skip to main content

Trouble in APC as Ndume rejects party’s position, vows to contest for Senate presidency

- Senator Ali Ndume said he would contest for the Senate presidency position

- The lawmaker said the APC cannot impose leadership on leaders

- Ndume said he would represent the interest of the northeast

Trouble is brewing within the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Senator Ali Ndume has vowed to contest for the position of Senate presidency despite the party’s endorsement of Ahmad Lawan.

Vanguard reports that the lawmaker spoke on Wednesday, May 8, where he said he deserves to be Senate president just like every other interested persons.

Ndume noted that the north-east geo-political zone has been considered for Senate presidency position noting that the region is the most ravaged by Boko Haram.

READ ALSO: Imo state: I’ve suffered ten times more in APC than in PDP - Okorocha

Senator Ndume said: “My mission for the Ninth Senate is not personal. It is part of what we need to do in the polity of this country. First of all, it is wrong for leaders to be given a leader from amongst themselves.

“They are supposed to decide who among themselves is supposed to be their leader. And that also is taken care of by the Constitution of the Federal Republic, Section 50 (1). It is very clear as to how the Senate leadership should emerge. But let me quickly add that is not to say that I think I am more qualified to be the Senate leader. I am not better than them in any way. Most of them were born with silver spoon, I came up from a very poor background.

“I am a human being that has rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which I font compromise. Even before I threw my heart into the ring for the Senate Presidency seat, my people called on me to throw my heart for the position. And I did for many reasons. One, I feel I am qualified. Two, I feel I should be given the chance. Three, the zoning was made to North East deliberately because of the precarious situation that we find ourselves.

“The insurgency has inflicted N9.2 trillion destruction on the North East. And you need somebody who knows where it pinches. We in Borno are in the epicenter of the Book Haram destruction. So it is not like what you will get from the Office of the Senate President but what you can do with it. If you are the Senate President in this country, you will be able to globetrot around, tell people how the problem is because you are in the heart of the problem. You know how it is.

“So, if this opportunity is given to us, we have three critical issues in Borno particularly and the North East in general.

“One is the issue of recharging of Lake Chad, which should be taken globally by somebody that knows it, somebody that can explain better to the people. Two, the issue of insurgence as I said, had inflicted a N2.7 trillion damage on us. If we are to go by monthly federal allocation and the budget of the state, it will take us ages.

“Right now, you can rightly say that Borno is a failed state. And the only way to bring it back is to have a way. And part of it is because I know and my passion for it because it affects me directly. Right now as I am speaking to you, I cannot comfortably drive to my local government. It has no light now because it is no connected. It has no telephone because the insurgents have destroyed the equipment. The ecosystem is destroyed, our schools are closed. “Secondly, I have been in this place for quite a while. The Senate was intended to be a stabilizing institution in the polity. When we came in, the senators were not doing much. I was inside House of Representatives then, we provided the advice and they took less of things like motions and all that. And they were going the senatorial job. Gradually, this is drifting. And we have gotten to a point now where from outside, a Senate President will be imposed on senators.

”I am glad that the party after doing that announcement, realised that it was wrong and unconstitutional. Even the party supremacy that they are talking about, in Article Two of the APC Constitution, it says that subject to the provision of the constitution, the APC will provide services to the government. And Section 50 of the Constitution is very clear about emergence of the leadership.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

“Besides, in all the emergence of candidates of APC, there is no provision for imposition. The president emerged through a democratic process. And the election was open, it was zoned in line with the Constitution. Even then, Rochas Okorocha contested and he was not disciplined. Buhari contested with Atiku, Kwankwanso and the others.”

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the candidature of Senator Ndume for the presidency of the 9th Senate, on Sunday, May 5, got the blessings of Northeast Elders and Stakeholders Forum.

In endorsing Ndume for the position, the group stated that his credentials trounces that of all others vying for the position.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better

Let’s Talk About Salaries of Nigerian Senators | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng



from Legit.ng: Latest Nigeria News Today & Breaking Naija News 24/7 http://bit.ly/2YjJ2iJ
via EDUPEDIA24/7

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dust haze weather to prevail on Thursday, December 27

- The Nigerian Meteorological agency (NiMet) predicts thick dust haze weather conditions over most parts of the country - NiMet predicts northern states would experience dust haze - The agency also predicts early morning mist/fog is expected over the coastal cities The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thick dust haze weather conditions with reduced visibility over most parts of the country on Thursday, December 27. NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Wednesday, December 26, in Abuja, revealed that the central region of the country would record dust haze condition with visibility range of two to five kilometres throughout the day. It added that day and night temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius, respectively, would prevail over the region. READ ALSO: Police reportedly arrest Badeh’s alleged killers The agency predicted that the northern states would experience dust haze with visibility range of two to fi...
Post a Comment
Read more

N2.5bn Fraud: You Have Case To Answer, Appeal Court Tells Suspended NBC Boss, Kawu

The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Ishaq Kawu. The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has dismissed an appeal filed by the suspended Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Dr Moddibbo Kawu, challenging the decision of the Federal High Court, to dismiss the no-case submission he filed at the lower court. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had charged Kawu, Lucky Omoluwa (late Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Ltd) and Dipo Onifade, Chief Operating Officer of the same company, before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, on a 12-count charge of money laundering. Is'haq Modibbo Kaw THISDAYLIVE The suspended NBC boss and his co-accused then approached the appellate court to reverse the judgment of the Federal High Court. The appellate dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kawu and his co-accused and held that they had an explanation to give when he elected to facilitate the payment of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Buhari’s Legacy Of Recessions By Fredrick Nwabufo

Fredrick Nwabufo ‘Why always Buhari?’ As it was in 1984 under General Buhari, so it is in 2016 and 2020 under President Buhari? Is it by the unfortunate hands of kismet that recession hits Nigeria every time Buhari takes charge of the country’s affairs? If the recession of the 80s under Buhari was a conspiracy by economic and political factors, to what do we attribute that of his first coming as a civilian President — and now in his second coming? Why does pestilence scourge the land, hunger ravage the population and lives lost malevolently when Buhari presides over the country? Why always Buhari? Buhari’s undoing is his wonted predilection for hierarchising ethnicity, religion and loyalty above competence. Since 1999, no President has obtrusively shown a more nepotistic aspect than Buhari. It is unarguable that the President arrays the most competence-challenged cabinet ever in the chronicle of governance in Nigeria. Yes, a recession cabinet. Fredrick Nwabufo Here is a cabin...
Post a Comment
Read more