Photo caption: Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume
A former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, has alleged that presidential aides who are meant to assist President Bola Tinubu are deceiving him on national issues.
He added that some of them are even damaging the President’s image.
This is just as he claimed that the government has been hijacked by those he described as “kleptocrats” and “kakistocrats.”
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Ndume alleged that key figures in Tinubu’s inner circle are driven by self-interest and gross incompetence.
“I see people lying and telling the president what he wants to hear.
“My position is that the people who are supposed to help him are the ones deceiving him or damaging his image,” Ndume said.
The senator, who represents Borno South, lamented that rather than acting as a support system, Tinubu’s aides have effectively “kidnapped” the presidency.
“They are unrealistic people. I said it before, and I’m not changing my position until they change or the president does something.
“I still believe the government is more or less dominated by kleptocrats and even kakistocrats,” he said.
When quizzed on the meaning of the terms, Ndume explained, “Kakistocrats are people holding positions they are not supposed to be in, while kleptocrats are those in politics for personal gain, not public service.”
While refusing to name individuals, Ndume insisted that the damage being done is both visible and severe.
The senator also criticised the disconnect between the presidency and ordinary Nigerians, saying the administration appears oblivious to the intense hardship being faced by citizens across the country as a result of economic policies.
“The president cannot go out to the streets like I do and know how the people feel.
“Even outside the villa, they would drive him in tinted glass so he doesn’t even see what is going on.
“People are not happy, and the president himself is not pretending. He acknowledges there is hardship and has asked Nigerians to be patient,” Ndume said.
He urged Tinubu to pay closer attention to feedback from lawmakers and officials with grassroots connections, warning that relying on a detached circle could deepen the crisis.
“It is the people like us who represent the public that should be listened to.
“Intelligence should come from those who are close to the ground. Things are very bad in the country,” he said.
