Senator Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate and a leading figure in the All Progressives Congress (APC), has issued a hard-hitting assessment of the current political climate, warning that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is at risk of derailment due to what he described as “kakistocrats and kleptocrats” occupying sensitive positions. The outspoken Borno South senator also blasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for plotting what he called an unrealistic 2027 takeover while refusing to play the role of a constructive opposition.
Speaking at a public function attended by senior political figures, Ndume delivered a fiery and unscripted address that touched on party defections, governance failures, PDP’s regrouping efforts in Ibadan, and the internal crisis affecting both major political parties. Ndume said he remained humbled to be chosen as a speaker at the event, but wasted no time in calling out what he believed were deep-rooted political distortions endangering Nigeria’s democratic stability.
Ndume’s first target was the PDP stalwarts in the audience, including the chairman of the organising committee whom he described humorously — yet pointedly — as “a PDP icon since G-34 days.” He joked that the man had managed PDP membership like “a patient living with HIV — not cured but only managed,” noting that the individual had openly admitted he arrived late because he was trying to “revive the PDP in Ibadan.” Ndume wished him luck but warned that Nigeria’s opposition is investing energy in electoral fantasies instead of governance.
He slammed the PDP for convening meetings in Ibadan and elsewhere to “throw APC out of power” in 2027, calling the move premature and unserious. According to him, “We are far away from 2027. Come and contribute to the success of this government instead of planning a takeover.”
Turning to the APC, Ndume issued one of his strongest warnings yet, arguing that the ruling party is overstretched by a wave of incoming defectors who contribute nothing to governance or internal party structure. He compared APC to a ship at risk of capsizing, overloaded with “mostly empty cargo.” He lamented that the party had been too generous in granting defected governors and senior politicians automatic leadership positions in states where they had no political roots.
Ndume said such practices were creating confusion and resentment, likening it to “a pastor moving from one church to another and immediately declaring himself the pastor,” or a new convert to another religion suddenly demanding to become Imam. According to him, these are the types of political contradictions destabilizing both the party and the country.
In a direct message to President Tinubu, Ndume insisted that Nigeria is suffering from a leadership imbalance in government functionality. He said a system where “the President is the captain, the player, the goalkeeper, the defender, the striker — everything at once” is unsustainable. He urged the political elders who have been with Tinubu since 1999 to step forward and guide the administration with honesty, discipline, and unity of purpose.
Despite repeatedly describing President Tinubu as a natural leader, Ndume warned that the government has been “overloaded with kakistocrats and kleptocrats,” insisting that some officials lack both competence and integrity. He said his frankness has often been misinterpreted as hostility or abuse, but his criticisms stem from a desire to prevent APC from failing Nigerians and handing the narrative to the opposition.
The senator recalled his own persecution during the Jonathan administration when he was falsely accused of sponsoring Boko Haram. He said the ordeal lasted six years before the courts cleared his name, adding that those behind the allegations later faced divine judgment. “There is God,” he said, invoking the famous phrase once used by a former First Lady.
In a lighthearted jab, Ndume revealed that former minister Sunday Dare “ran away” after hearing Ndume was scheduled to speak, drawing laughter from the audience. But he ended on a serious note, asking the minister present to carry a message directly to the President: Nigerians are looking to him for firm, principled leadership. The senator insisted that the APC must first purge itself of deadweight before it can fulfill its mandate.
Ndume closed by calling for unity within the APC, stressing that “charity begins at home.” He urged party members to rally behind President Tinubu, warning that without unity and internal discipline, the ruling party risks major setbacks ahead of 2027.
