Some of them contribute nothing. They remain silent, doing nothing, even though we have been magnanimous enough to let defecting governors automatically become leaders of the party in their states.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has cautioned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is at risk of internal collapse following the increasing number of opposition governors and federal lawmakers defecting into the party.
Ndume issued the warning on Sunday night while delivering his acceptance speech at the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual Award Lecture held at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, where he was honoured as “Most Outstanding Legislature and Advocate of National Unity.”
The Borno South senator said the APC was taking in too many defectors with little or no political value, likening the situation to “overloading a ship with empty cargo.”
“I have warned that the APC is becoming overloaded. And when you overload a ship, especially with mostly empty cargo, it risks capsizing,” he said. “If it capsizes, the owner of the ship will face a bigger problem. That is the situation we find ourselves in today.”
Ndume insisted that the wave of defections was not engineered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or APC leaders but was largely driven by internal crises within opposition parties.
“The PDP is uncomfortable playing the role of minority or opposition,” he said. “I am not aware of anyone the president or any of us has gone out to persuade. But when your brother is displaced by a crisis in his party and he knocks on your door, will you shut him out? That is what is happening.”
He added that many of the new entrants were offering nothing to the APC after joining.
“Some of them contribute nothing. They remain silent, doing nothing, even though we have been magnanimous enough to let defecting governors automatically become leaders of the party in their states,” Ndume complained. “It is like someone moving to a new church and immediately wanting to become the pastor, or converting to Islam and insisting on becoming the Imam. Naturally, this creates problems.”
The former Senate Leader also urged Nigerians to support the Tinubu administration but expressed dissatisfaction with some ministers and presidential aides, arguing that their lack of competence was slowing down government performance.
“We must be united behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said. “I am critical because I fear people may think we are failing, even though we have a leader who is willing to listen.”
He said governance was being hindered by an overconcentration of responsibilities on the president.
“One person cannot be the captain, the player, the goalkeeper and the striker all at once,” Ndume said. “We suffer from a lack of leadership capacity—not because the president is not leading, but because he is being made to run the entire field alone.”
Ndume repeated an earlier criticism of the administration’s personnel makeup: “I once said the government is overloaded with kakistocrats and kleptocrats. We must clear them out so we can move forward.”
Earlier, Dame Flora Azikiwe, wife of Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, commended the organisers for keeping the statesman’s legacy alive. She urged today’s political leaders to emulate the selfless leadership of First Republic figures.
“They are long gone, but their legacies live on,” she said, citing her husband, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello. “Leaders of the First Republic were selfless, not like leaders today who are bothered about their pockets. I am always happy when people say good things about Zik and what he did.”