NDUME: Atiku says Senate now a puppet

Former Vice President and 2023 presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, slammed the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, saying the body has become an enabler of executive indiscretion.

His criticism comes following the removal of Senator Ali Ndume as Senate Speaker over his criticism of President Bola Tinubu.

Atiku, in a statement, expressed concern over the emerging pattern of the National Assembly endangering the health of democracy by prioritizing the interests of the executive over those of the people.

He described the situation as a dictatorship that was exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.

The former Vice President lamented that the current administration had turned democracy into a curse, with the National Assembly, especially the Senate, becoming a puppet in the hands of the President.

He cited several cases where senators were punished for carrying out their duties to hold the executive accountable, such as the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi for exposing budget inflation in the 2024 State Budget Bill.

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Atiku also referred to Senator Ali Ndume’s call for the President to address the country’s dire poverty and hunger, but he was instead removed from his position as Senate Speaker.

He condemned the National Assembly’s actions as unfair and urged a reversal of this trend to ensure democracy serves the interests of the people.

Atiku said, “We are beginning to see a pattern where the National Assembly has become a catalyst for executive indiscretions, and the interests of the people are at the bottom of the legislature’s priority list.

“This emerging reality must be stopped. The health of our democracy is being compromised by the unholy alliance between the executive and the legislature and heralds a dictatorship that will worsen the fate of the people.”

The former Vice President said it was unfortunate that “democracy in Nigeria under the current administration of President Bola Tinubu has become anathema to the general tenets of democracy which provide the primary safeguards for the people against executive overreach.”

“This bad trend is shown by the attitude of our National Assembly, especially the Senate, which has taken the opposite direction from its main function and become a puppet in the hands of the President.

“Currently, Nigerians are victims of an ambiguous budget framework, where budget allocations for the current fiscal year are subject to a number of budget allocations.

“Just yesterday, Senator Ali Ndume called on the President to wake up to his responsibilities and provide assistance to address the dire hunger and poverty in the country.

“Ironically, the @NGRSenate’s response to his patriotic warning was to remove him from his key position as Senate Leadership Leader,” he said.

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