Leadership of the Labour Party, on Wednesday, protested the removal of Senator Ali Ndume as the Senate Chief Whip.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio read a letter from the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress demanding Ndume’s dismissal as a principal officer in the 10th Senate.
The APC also advised Ndume, who has been very critical of President Bola Tinubu and his administration, to resign and join any opposition party of his choice.
In a statement on Wednesday, LP National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh said Ndume’s removal indicated that speaking truth to power is now a crime in Nigeria.
LP claimed the alleged humiliation of Ndume by the Senate portrayed a dictatorial tendency.
The statement read, “The crime of Senator Ndume was his bold expression of his concerns regarding the escalating cost of living and food scarcity in Nigeria, and his revelation that President Bola Tinubu has chosen to play the ostrich even in the face of acute starvation being witnessed in Nigeria.
“The direction this administration is taking is grave. A few months ago, Senator Abdul Ningi exposed the rot in the government where the Senate leadership and executive collaborators allegedly padded the budget. That got him suspended and intimidated out of his lawful representative role as a senator.
“It is needless talking about the ongoing economic crisis in Nigeria, even where a few cabal are massively enriching themselves. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently said that food inflation has risen to 40.66 percent.
“Even with all these glaring and scaring challenges, the government is said to have paid about N150bn for a presidential jet, building roads that have no direct bearing on the economic crises in Nigeria.”
LP questioned what could be called democratic about the ruling party making decisions for an independent legislative arm on who takes up leadership roles in the nation’s legislature.
LP added, “This is clearly a tyranny of a cabal against legislative autonomy. Nigeria is gradually descending into dictatorship, and we are calling on the citizens to be on alert and defend against the starvation weapon being deployed by this administration.”
