Ndume apologises to Tinubu

Former Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, has formally apologised to the All Progressives Congress (APC) over his hurtful comments against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Ndume gave the apology on Tuesday, after a closed-door meeting with the hierarchy of the party at its headquarters in Abuja.

The party had requested the Senate to remove Ndume as the Chief Whip of the Red Chamber on July 17, a move he strongly denounced.

According to him, he regretted that his public observation did not go well within the party, though he admitted it was true and expressed out of patriotism.

Ndume said, “Yesterday, I was invited by the party, and here I am to discuss family matters. Actually, the national chairman is not just a national chairman to me but a father. With what has happened, which you are all aware of, it is not surprising that I was invited to hear my own side, and we had family discussions.

READ ALSO: APC considers reinstating Ndume as Senate Chief Whip

“I actually accepted the mistake of not talking to the party as a last point, and I promised the party that all my observations as a senior member of the family should have terminated or ended with the party. That is something that moving forward I will do, but whatever I said or whatever I did was out of patriotism. Those issues may have been said strongly, but they are true. However, I should have talked to the party as the last bus stop.

“My membership—I have not been expelled; even the party did not say we don’t want you here. Because he is my father, the party is my father. The only thing the party said is that if you don’t want this house, you can go to any house. Where will I go? This is my house.

“The PresidentPresident and the Senate have nothing to do with this. The President did not take offence; I didn’t insult the President, I didn’t say anything against the party, but I left the party out of reach on issues. So, please, I think that is all I can say.”

While his statement strongly suggests his position within the party hierarchy is strong, the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, said, “It is a family issue; we need to resolve it. We are writing to the National Assembly conveying what has transpired between Senator Ndume and the party. He apologised to the party, and we will convey the same issue to the National Assembly, with the hope they can review their position.”