The opposition Labour Party (LP) has condemned the removal of Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume as the majority chief whip of the Senate over what the party called the lawmaker’s vociferous stand with the suffering Nigerian masses.
LP said the action of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leadership of the Senate clearly signified that speaking truth to power is now a crime in Nigeria.
In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, on Wednesday, the party said that the humiliation of Ndume by the Goodwill Akpabio-led Senate portrayed dictatorial inclination of the ruling APC.
Recall that Senator Ndume came under attacks from the Presidency and APC in the last few days following a TV interview where he expressed his concerns regarding the escalating cost of living and food scarcity in Nigeria, and his claim that President Bola Tinubu has chosen to play the ostrich even in the face of acute starvation being witnessed in Nigeria.
LEADERSHIP reports that Ndume was sacked from his principal office by the Senate on Wednesday following demand for his resignation and replacement by the national leadership of the APC apparently over his outburst against President Tinubu administration.
But, reacting to the development, the Labour Party, through its spokesperson, said: “The dimension this administration is taking is grave. 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 talking about the economic crisis on going in Nigeria even where a few cabal are massively enriching themselves. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently said that food inflation has risen to 40.66 percent. Similarly, the 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition World report, has it that the number of food-insecure Nigerians has also increased by 133 percent in three years. It jumped from 63.8 million between 2014 and 2016 to 148.7 million between 2020 and 2022. It is even worse at the moment.
“Even with all these glaring and scaring challenges, the government is said to have paid about N150 billion naira for a presidential jet, building roads that have no direct bearing with the economic crises in Nigeria.
“The media practitioners are recoiling into their shelves for the fear of reporting the facts about this government for the fear of emasculation and incarceration.
“What is so democratic about the party in government making decision for an independent legislative arm on who takes up leadership role in our legislature. This is clear a tyranny of a cabal against the a legislative autonomy. Nigeria is gradually descending into dictatorship and we are calling on the citizens to be on an alert and put up a defence against the starvation weapon being deployed by this administration.”