The leadership of the Labour Party has condemned, in totality, the sacking of Senator Ali Ndume’s as Chief Whip of the Senate on Wednesday.
Following his dismissal, Ndume was promptly replaced by Tahir Monguno, Senator for Borno North.
The Senate replaced Ndume after receiving a directive to do so in a letter from the party’s National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, and National Secretary, Senator Bashir Ajibola.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, submitted the request to a voice vote, which was loudly supported by all APC senators.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, expressed worry that speaking truth to power is becoming a felony in the country.
According to him, Ndume’s humiliation by the Akpabio-led Senate reflects the ruling All Progressives Congress’ totalitarian tendencies.
He said, “The crime of Senator Ndume was his bold expression of his concerns regarding the escalating cost of living and food scarcity in Nigeria and his revelation that President Bola Tinubu has chosen to play the ostrich even in the face of acute starvation being witnessed in Nigeria.
“The dimension this administration has taken is grave. A few months ago, Senator Abdul Ningi exposed the rot in the government where the Senate leadership and the executive collaborators allegedly padded the budget. That got him suspended and intimidated out of his lawful representative role as a senator.
“It is needless to talk about the economic crisis going on in Nigeria, even where a few cabal members are massively enriching themselves.
“The National Bureau of Statistics recently said that food inflation has risen to 40.66 percent. Even with all these glaring challenges, the government is said to have paid about N150b for a presidential jet and built roads that have no direct bearing on the economic crises in Nigeria.
“The media practitioners are recoiling into their sheds for fear of reporting the facts about this government for fear of emasculation and incarceration. This is the tyranny of a cabal against legislative autonomy.
“Nigeria is gradually descending into dictatorship, and we are calling on the citizens to be on alert and put up a defence against the starvation weapon being deployed by this administration.”
