Maverick federal lawmaker, representing Borno South senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Ali Ndume, has accused some officials in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration of demanding bribes in exchange for providing access to the President.
Senator Ndume pointedly said that senior government officials and lawmakers struggle to meet with Tinubu by passing through intermediaries who he alleged, collect money to facilitate appointments.
The former Chief Whip of the Senate described the development as “deeply troubling and detrimental to effective governance”, emphasising that such practices risk isolating the President from critical stakeholders which could lead to the escalation of public mistrust in government institutions.
Ndume, who stated these when he featured on Arise Television interview programme anchored by Charles Anagolu following the diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and the United States, said that he does not have a chance of seeing President Tinubu as he has no money to dole out.
In the words of Ndume; “The only time I can see Mr President is when he is going to an event. This is how they run the government. I’m telling you, they don’t have people there.
“The government is dominated by kakistocrats. If you want to see the President, they will ask you how much?” he said.
Ndume defined “kakistocrats,” to mean “government by the least qualified or most corrupt,”, saying that those are the people in the corridors of power around President Tinubu.
He said that he made efforts to reach the President through formal channels to discuss important financial matters, but was repeatedly frustrated by bureaucratic bottlenecks created by aides.
“I wrote to them that I wanted to see the President to discuss some financial issues, but they were playing games as if they want you to go to heaven,” Ndume said.
