The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has raised concerns about the composition of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying too many unqualified officials are dominating the Presidency and undermining the government, warning that they will continue to undermine the government unless the President takes decisive action.

He made the remarks while speaking on the composition of the APC’s newly constituted 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, saying it does not address his concerns about the competence of officials dominating the Presidency and their role in undermining the administration.

“My concern remains that the President has so many kakistocrats dominating the presidency. Unless he does something about it, they will continue to mess him up.

“We had a fake agency operating with an office, and after the ICPC investigated, they discovered even more. A permanent secretary in the presidency had to be suspended. That is where I give the President credit, but I insist that if he had capable hands, all this mess and embarrassment wouldn’t be happening. He is still not taking the appropriate action on it.

“People put up the presidential campaign committee. If I had the ear of Mr. President, there was no need for a presidential campaign committee. Instead, what is the party doing? The President is the product of the party. The owner of a product should be the one selling the product, not the product selling itself. Yes, I disagree. He shouldn’t be on it; it should be the National Chairman of the party.”

He also suggested that President Tinubu may not have been fully aware of the process that led to the composition of the campaign council, pointing to the complaints that followed its announcement.

“From what happened, you can see that even the President was not fully aware. Why would there be complaints? I’ll give you an example. It seemed he wasn’t aware, because if he were aware, there wouldn’t have been complaints. I know the man. But why am I worried? It’s not about my party; it’s about politics in Nigeria.”

Speaking further on the administration’s performance, Ndume said the removal of fuel subsidy was a difficult but necessary decision, although its consequences had caused significant hardship for Nigerians.

He also blamed the President’s aides for worsening the situation, accusing them of focusing on personalities and attacking critics instead of engaging with concerns about government policies and performance.

“The performance of this administration, when you look at it in context, is that the President has expressed himself and genuinely wanted to confront difficult issues. He has taken very difficult decisions, and it is painful to Nigerians—that is the greatest part of it now. Take two examples: on the day he was sworn in, he removed the fuel subsidy. I was surprised, but many Nigerians support the removal of the oil subsidy. However, the consequences and effects are the major problem against the APC now, because it brought hardship to the people.

“The President himself acknowledged that there is hardship as a result of the policies, but promised Nigerians that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Nigerians are very anxious and waiting, and some are even saying there is no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.

“We are saying that the staff or people he has around him are the major problem. Instead of talking about ideas and events, they have small minds and talk about people. When anybody makes a statement, the President’s spokespersons rush on TV to insult the person and call them names. That is not it. You take the points that person made about the system one after the other.”

Speaking on the 2027 race, Ndume said the opposition should focus on the government’s policies and performance, rather than personal attacks, and present Nigerians with a credible alternative agenda. He said the APC, on its part, should do more to explain its policies and their expected benefits to Nigerians instead of engaging in name-calling and attacks.

“My advice to the opposition is to focus on the policies and performance of the government, put down your alternative policy agenda, and convince Nigerians that it is workable. It’s not enough to say you are removing or bringing back the subsidy.

“The APC is saying that the returns on these policies take time and won’t happen overnight. People are going to suffer, like treating malaria with a bitter pill or a painful injection that has side effects. But if you complete the dose, you get cured. In Nigeria, Nigerians have to decide. The APC should concentrate on explaining to Nigerians what our government is doing, rather than abusing people.”

Pointing to divisions within the opposition, Senator Ndume cited the differing positions of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi on the fuel subsidy, saying the coalition was yet to fully align.

“I don’t take opposition or political opponents for granted. But when you look at the opponents, you see they are fighting over something that is yet to be in their hands. Initially, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar had a fallout. Obi joined the Labour Party and formed a coalition with Kwankwaso, which is yet to be fully aligned.

“Atiku is saying he will bring back the subsidy, while Obi is saying no, do not bring back the fuel subsidy. I agree with Obi on that. It is not the oil subsidy itself that is the problem, but how we manage it.”

Ndume, however, maintained his position that the problem was not the subsidy itself but how it was managed, saying this was what allowed “kakistocrats and kleptocrats” to exploit the system.

“That is what brought in the kakistocrats and kleptocrats, and I still maintain that position. Once you get rid of these guys and allow the system to work properly, Nigerians will see it.” (AriseNews TV)