Senator representing Borno South and Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been caged by certain forces in the Presidential Villa whom he noted has fenced off selfless Nigerians from having access to him.
Senator Ndume made the allegation on Wednesday while speaking with journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
Tribune Online checks revealed that the Senate had on Tuesday asked the federal government to address the impending food crisis in the country and inform Nigerians, immediately on appropriate measures taken.
The Senate resolution was on the heels of a motion of “Urgent Need to Address Food Insecurity and Market Exploitation of Consumables In Nigeria,” co-sponsored by Senator Ndume with his colleague from Kogi West, Sunday Karimi.
Senator Ndume told newsmen that nothing appreciable was being done in recent times to de-escalate the security challenge in the country.
“Mr President isn’t 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.
“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.”
On the farmers-herders crisis which has also compounded the food scarcity, Senator Ndume expressed disappointment that stakeholders have not been forthright in addressing the menace of herders as he noted that contributions were always driven by ethnic sentiments.