Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, has faulted the quality of advisers surrounding President Bola Tinubu, warning that growing dissatisfaction in northern Nigeria could translate into serious electoral consequences if not urgently addressed.
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on ARISE Television’s Prime Time, the lawmaker said claims that the North is politically content were misleading, stressing that public frustration in the region is steadily building.
“Anybody that tells you that the North is not grumbling now is not telling the truth,” Ndume said. “It will be loud in their votes if nothing is done about it. The good thing is that the President can still turn things around.”
Ndume revealed that northern elders had previously made concerted efforts to engage President Tinubu constructively, adding that he personally participated in meetings between the President and influential leaders from the region.
“In the North, elders have been reaching out. I was part of the first and the last meeting with Mr President when northern elders went to him,” he said. “He was prepared, brought all the critical appointees from the North, and we had a wonderful session.”
However, the senator said the engagement process stalled shortly after the initial meetings, despite assurances from the President that consultations would continue.
“He promised it would continue, but it never happened,” Ndume noted.
While absolving Tinubu of direct responsibility, the senator argued that the President’s challenges stem largely from the calibre of people in his inner circle.
“You know what I’m suspecting? The President is not the problem; it is the people around the President that are the problem,” he said.
Ndume contrasted the current situation with Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State, which he said was defined by strong advisers who were not afraid to speak truth to power.
“The President had good people around him when he was governor of Lagos; that was why he succeeded,” he said. “Most of the good people are not there now. They have been sidelined.”
He further criticised some presidential aides for what he described as elitist isolation and a lack of grassroots and national connection.
“He just picked people that don’t know anybody,” Ndume said. “They only know Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and from there they fly to London or America where their families are living. They are not even full Nigerians.”
According to him, the absence of politically grounded advisers has weakened honest feedback to the President.
“Instead of bringing in a team that would look at him in the face and tell him the truth, he surrounded himself with people that don’t know politics,” he said.
Ndume warned that unless the grievances—particularly in the North—are meaningfully addressed, public dissatisfaction could deepen and ultimately be expressed at the ballot box.