Former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Nigerian Senate, has publicly distanced himself from recent moves within the All Progressives Congress (APC) to endorse President Bola Tinubu for a second term in the upcoming 2027 general elections.
Ndume stated this on Sunday, while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme.
He also issued a cautionary reminder to the President, citing the 2015 electoral defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan despite similar backing from his party’s governors.
“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,” Ndume warned.
In 2015, Jonathan ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party but was defeated by the All Progressives Congress candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, in the presidential election.
Buhari polled 15,424,921 votes to defeat the ex-president who garnered 12,853,162 votes.
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Last month, 22 APC governors reportedly endorsed President Tinubu as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election during a gathering at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. However, Ndume said he walked out of the meeting once it became apparent that the event was being used as a platform for the endorsement.
Ndume explained, “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 being conducted about the endorsement of Mr President, I just left.”
The senator advised against any sense of complacency, especially considering recent reports suggesting that certain APC leaders are advocating for automatic candidacies for incumbent lawmakers.
He cautioned that such actions risk alienating the party’s grassroots supporters and loyal campaigners essential figures without whom any electoral pursuit would be destined to fail.
“When speculation arose that members of the National Assembly might be granted automatic tickets, the party issued a denial.
“So, who will serve as the foot soldiers? You cannot depend solely on the governors,” he remarked.
Drawing parallels with previous political miscalculations, Ndume criticised what he described as repeated failures by politicians to learn from history.
“Politicians are decamping, but the people who are the voters are not decamping,” he said.
