TheCable

Ali Ndume, chief whip of the upper legislative chamber, says he is more experienced than Senate President Godswill Akpabio on issues of parliament.

Ndume spoke when he appeared on Sunday Politics, a Channels Television programme.

He was first elected senator in 2011, while Akpabio was first elected into the senate in 2015.

The Borno south senator explained why  he walked out of the red chamber after Akpabio ruled him out of order.

Ndume had tried to draw the attention of the senate president to the rule book on the management of a crisis — but Akpabio was having none of it and ruled him out of order.

“My problem is the way he handled the situation and what happened the last time was misunderstood or taken out of context. Don’t forget that I fought here, campaigned for Akpabio. You can’t build a house and destroy it,” Ndume said.

“The main problem is that I’m more experienced than him. When I tried to correct him… you don’t overrule your chief whip.

“At that time, he was supposed to invite me then we would talk more one-on-one but he took advantage of the gavel and it was 12:30 pm and I needed to go and pray.”

Ndume said President Bola Tinubu should send a bill to the national assembly on unexplained wealth, but in the interim, he should sign an executive order to curb the malaise.

“I think the best way to get this across is when the bill comes from the executive or in the interim, the current president should sign an executive bill on unexplained wealth,” he said, commenting on the rot in the judiciary as disclosed by Musa Dattijo, a retired supreme court justice.

LUXURY VEHICLES FOR LAWMAKERS

Ndume said his colleagues are opting for Land Cruiser sport utility vehicles (SUVs) because they want cars that are “stable” and safe.

The senator added that lawmakers need vehicles to perform their duties.

“Over the years, that cost is going up. We had 406 but it did not serve the purpose,” he said.

“In 2007, we went for Prado, that Prado was the least expensive of all jeeps, if you remember that time. I think we lost two senators because of the instability of the vehicle, that was why they went for a Land Cruiser.”

He added that the national assembly administration should be in charge of procuring the vehicles — not the lawmakers.