Borno leaders meeting – Senate may recall Ndume

The Nigerian Punch newspaper in its online version is reporting that the Nigerian senate may recall Senator Ali Ndume who got suspended after instigating a probe of unsubstantiated allegations against two other senators, Senator Dino Melaiye who was accused of not graduating from Ahmadu Bello University and the Senate President, Dr Saraki who was linked to an imported armoured range rover.

Senator Ndume in white with convicted Boko Haram member

Both accusations turned out false, both were a fallout of other underlying issues pointedly the refusal of the senate to confirm the acting EFCC chairman, the indictment of the Secretary to the Federal Government and the refusal of the Comptroller General of the customs to appear in uniform before the senate. Senator Ndume sided with the executive arm of the government, specifically the presidency on all the issues and earned the wrath of his colleagues who eventually suspended him for  six months for basically working against the senate.

Ostensibly to get him reabsorbed into the senate quickly, the Governor of Borno state whom Ndume senatorial district is along with other Borno leaders paid a visit to the Senate president pleading for his recall.

The Punch is thus reporting that he may be recalled soon once the different caucuses agree after lobbying.

The drama at the Nigerian senate is nothing new, what may be new however is the speed with which the Borno elites have rallied to get Ndume reinstated.

It is worthy of note that the Borno elites had been fingered several times in the terrorist insurgency of Boko Haram, a deadly terrorist group and Senator Ali Ndume according to a 2011 BBC report had been accused directly by DSS for links with Boko Haram and was arraigned in court by December 2013 for the same offence, again in 2016 the spokesman for Boko Haram who had just been released from prison was again arrested in Ndumes house.

There is always a story behind every news and this news seems to have many stories enough for a full length movie, a house of Representative member, Hon Jibrin was suspended but Kano elders whose state his constituency is never sent a delegation to seek his reinstatement.

Could it be that the Borno elites do not want to lose the ears and eyes of Boko Haram in the Nigerian senate or how does one explain the massive show of support for only one senator out of three from the state, after all some of the rescued Chibok girls did say they were kept in the house of a top politician in Gwarzo for about 8 months after their kidnap.

President Buhari, VP Osinbajo and rescued Chibok girls

In all the, link between Borno Elites, Senator Ndume, his glaring effort to pander to the Presidency whose head himself had at a time wanted Boko Haram members treated with kids gloves points to a deep and murky connection only time can unravel.