Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, stated that President Bola Tinubu is unaware of the severe hunger and anger affecting Nigerians.
Speaking with journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja on Wednesday, Ndume claimed that President Tinubu is isolated in the Presidential Villa, surrounded by individuals who feed him lies and prevent selfless Nigerians from telling him the truth.
Ndume’s comments were in response to a Senate resolution advising the federal government to address the widespread hunger or face public backlash.
On Tuesday, Ndume co-sponsored a motion led by Senator Sunday Karimi, Chairman of the Committee on Senate Services, titled “Urgent Need to Address Food Insecurity and Market Exploitation of Consumables in Nigeria.”
Ndume expressed to journalists that recent efforts to mitigate the country’s security challenges, which pose a constant threat to food security, have been insufficient.
Ndume said, “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.
“Now, they have stopped him from talking and he doesn’t have public affairs managers, except that his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press statements.
“Nigerians are getting very, very angry. The government is not doing anything about the food scarcity and it needs to do something urgently. We don’t have food reserve.
“There is unavailability of food. Food crisis is the worst crisis that any nation can encounter. If we add that to security crisis, it will be severe.”
Ndume added, “The president should wake up, it seems he isn’t in the picture of what is happening because he has been caged off.
“He has been fenced off by plutocrats. He should open his doors and meet those who will tell him the truth. Unfortunately, the people who will tell him the truth won’t struggle to meet him.
“I am very worried not only for the president himself, but myself.”
He expressed disappointment that stakeholders have not been honest in addressing the issue of herders in the country.
The Senate Chief Whip pointed out that the herders’ problem has exacerbated the food scarcity crisis.