The Senate on Wednesday removed Senator Ali Ndume as Chief Whip and replaced him with Mohammed Monguno representing Borno North.

Mr Ndume representing Borno South senatorial district criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government as loaded with looters in a recent television interview, saying he was ashamed to be a senior member of the ruling party. 

The Borno lawmaker had also previously said that Mr Tinubu was “caged” and out of touch with reality that hunger was ravaging the nation under his watch and surrounded by sycophants.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio was prompted to move the motion for Mr Ndume’s ouster after reading out a letter of complaints from the All Progressives Congress’ National Working Committee which was aggrieved by the senator’s repeated criticisms of Mr Tinubu’s administration.

The development on Wednesday could further complicate affairs within the ruling APC, which has seen cracks within its ranks over the best direction for the country. 

Poverty under Mr Tinubu has intensified nationwide, with Mr Ndume blaming the administration for failing to recognise how precarious things had turned in recent months. Mr Tinubu vehemently denied corruption allegations and said his team would continue to manage the raging crises prudently.

“We believed in Renewed Hope. But as I said, I speak straight.  This government is going down because it is now run by kakistorcracts. Kakistocrats is a government run by the worst, least qualified and most unscrupulous citizens,” Mr Ndume said on Arise TV last Friday. “This government is run by kakistocrats and kleptocrats.”

On July 10 while addressing journalists at the National Assembly complex, Mr Ndume said Mr Tinubu’s sycophants and aides were hiding the true impoverished state of the nation from him. He said a food crisis was looming and its impact would be devastating if not averted.

“Mr President is not in the picture of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been fenced off and caged. So many of us won’t go through the backdoor to engage him” Mr Ndume said on July 10.

“Now they have stopped him from talking and he doesn’t have public affairs managers, except for his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press statements,” the Borno South lawmaker said.

“There is unavailability of food. Food crisis is the worst crisis that any nation can encounter. If we add that to the security crisis, it will be severe,” Mr Ndume added.

Mr Ndume did not immediately return a request seeking comments from Peoples Gazette about his removal, allegedly schemed out by Mr Tinubu’s allies, led by Mr Akpabio.