Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno South district in the Senate is not afraid of taking a lonely walk especially when convinced that he has been wronged. No mountain, no matter the height is insurmountable once Ndume is determined to climb.
The Borno- born senator is determined to sit on the Senate President’s seat come June 2019, despite roadblocks erected on the way by his party, the APC. How far can he go?
In 2003, Ndume was elected to represent his people for the seat of Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives on the platform of ANPP: a position he occupied from 2003 – 2011. On the inauguration of the sixth (6th) Assembly in 2007, he was unanimously elected as the Minority Leader and served creditably.
Due to the political disagreements in his Party in his home State of Borno, he walked out of the ANPP,the ruling party in the state.
In December 2010 barely 100days to 2011 elections Ndume decamped to the PDP, citing the injustices going on in the party as his reason for leaving the ANPP. He boasted that the people from the grassroots of Southern Borno were solidly behind him.
He said that he was not being given a level playing ground in the competition with other ANPP aspirants for candidature in the Senate election.
Apparently he had fallen out with Governor Ali Modu Sheriff. Ndume’s defection to the PDP was seen as a major blow to the ANPP. He was said to have been the major financer and the back-bone of ANPP in the Borno-South senatorial zone.
Following Ndume’s defection, the PDP re-opened the sale of nomination forms. Alhaji Sanda Garba, who had been the only aspirant for the South Borno Senate seat, stepped down to make way for Ndume as the PDP candidate.
In the election, Ndume won 146,403 votes, ahead of Dr. Asaba Vilita Bashir of the ANPP with 133,734 votes and Alhaji Unaru Ibrahim of the CPC with 20,414 votes.
He soon ran into another controversy in his new party, the PDP, this time, a bigger one which could consume lesser mortals. In November 2011, Senator Ndume was reported to be linked to Boko Haram. This alleged connection to Boko Haram was made following the Nigerian State Security Service’s interrogation of a suspected Boko Haram member and spokesman, Mallam Ali Konduga.
But this is ironical as he was mandated by the President Goodluck Jonathan’s government to reach out to boko haram members and that was exactly what he was doing as the boko haram suspect whom he was alleged to be having contact with was boko haram’s spokesman, how can you reach out to boko haram if not through their spokesman?
Surviving that scare was no mean effort. Bruised and feeling betrayed by the PDP, Ndume soon began a new political alignments and re-alignments which saw him form nPDP with 20 of his colleagues which eventually coalesced into APC, the present ruling party.
He was re-elected in the 2015 Senatorial elections and served briefly as the Leader of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria before parting ways with Senate President,Dr Bukola Saraki,who ironically is now his chief promoter as his(Saraki’s) successor.
Like the proverbial cat with nine lives, he’s of the view that victory is certain this time again, especially with the opposition PDP pledging support for his aspiration. Reeling out his nine-point agenda for his tenure if elected the Senate President of the 9th assembly, Ndume, two days ago, released the document despite the decision of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to back Ahmed Lawan, the current Senate Leader, for the same position.
The senator in his nine-point agenda, promised to improve upon the performance of the 8th Senate. He also pledged to make the office of the Senate President less attractive by reducing the unnecessary privileges attached to it.
The former Senate majority leader pledged to uphold the independence of the legislature and expressed his willingness to “work harmoniously and inter-dependently with the executive without undermining the principle of separation of powers”.
Ndume said he would prioritise and ensure the passage of the Constituency Development Bill to make “constituency projects more transparent, accountable, efficient and effective”.
According to Ndume, the Senate would agree on timelines for confirmation, passage of bills especially the annual budgets, which he said, would not exceed 90 days from the day of submission.
Ndume said: “We will make laws that will block leakages, devise improved means of generating revenue, especially through the amendment and review of our tax laws which will help to reduce reliance on local and foreign loans to finance budget.
“We will run the 9th Senate transparently, through open accountability with full participation of all senators. For example, we will transfer the approving powers of the privileges of the senators like foreign travels, allowances to Senate services committee or a new committee to be known as ‘ways and means committee’.
He also said his presidency would uphold the party’s principles and policies and that the Senate under him would make laws and review existing ones in tandem with the APC’s Next Level agenda for Nigeria.
Ndume appealed to the APC to allow democracy to thrive in the country.
‘’What I am appealing to the party (APC) and the leadership, is to allow democracy to prevail. Democracy has its rules of engagement. It wasn’t good for the 8th National Assembly because the party did not do what it was supposed to do at the right time. Naturally, the members of the National Assembly had to do what they had to do. That is history now.
“Going forward, I suggest that first, the ruling party with the majority should come out clearly from the beginning to zone positions of principal officers early. Thereafter, the party should allow the members or the senators from that zone to elect from among themselves a leader.
“The problem, like I always say, is imposition of leaders. The Executive always attempt to put somebody whom they perceive is their own. That is not the right thing to do. The right thing to do is to guide the National Assembly. Say okay, Senate President should come from this zone, then the senators from the zone should go and produce a candidate.
“They can either shortlist people or they leave it open. Shortlisting is because the party may have A,B,C in mind. But, when you insist that it is only one candidate, that is where the trouble is. That candidate may not be acceptable to all and secondly, it’s not being fair to other contestants to just close their chances. Doing so is not democratic’’ he opined.