According to a news source, Nigeria’s Borno South Senator Ali Ndume has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s endorsement for a second term, calling it premature and distant from present reality.
During a live interview on TV, Ndume, who has served in the National Assembly for over two decades, criticised the decision of 22 All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to support Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2027 election.
The senator voiced concern about the country’s economic suffering, rising costs of living, and mounting insecurity, claiming that many Nigerians have lost faith in the administration’s Renewed Hope initiative. “Nigerians cannot see any hope; they are doubting the Renewed Hope,” Ndume tweeted.
He remembered how former President Goodluck Jonathan secured the support of 22 governors in 2015 but lost the presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Ndume, the public endorsement of a candidate by political elites does not necessarily reflect the will of ordinary voters.
Ndume admitted that he departed the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja during the contentious endorsement event, which was originally described as a summit. “I was there, but that was not why I was there; I was there for a summit, and when I realised that it was not a summit and a voice vote was put about the endorsement of Mr President, I just left,” he further revealed.
The senator remained loyal to the APC but emphasised that the priority should be tackling the country’s critical concerns, not political endorsements. “I hope that he would look back historically and see that the gathering of people to endorse you does not mean anything,” Ndume told him.
He added, “Jonathan had 22 governors then endorsing him, like was done now. And what happened? Jonathan lost woefully. A lot of money was spent. Even the election was shifted, but we are not learning our lessons. I pity Mr President.”
