The Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm about alleged gathering of a “cartel” around President Bola Tinubu.
Ndume remarked this on Monday against the backdrop of the suspension of Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu by Tinubu.
The latter’s ordeal followed the exposure of a memo from her to the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein with which she directed Mrs Madein to transfer N585M meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos states to a private account owned by one Oniyelu Bridget in contravention of the extant Public Service Rules.
Ndume lavished praise on the President for suspending the embattled Minister saying, “What President Tinubu has done is very timely. The suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs is a welcome development. It will allow the relevant agencies to conduct a proper investigation. This was just as he said Tinubu’s suspension of Edu was a timely action.”
The senator made this comment in an interview he granted Punchng where he alerted the public to the growing influence of a group of persons allegedly around Tinubu that would be worse than cabal.
“There is an emerging political cartel within the corridors of power. The President must act swiftly and dismantle the cartel.
“If they’re not stopped, they’ll be stronger and worse than the cabal. The President must not allow that to happen. I don’t think what the minister did was an isolated case. I don’t think she acted alone,” the publication quoted him as saying.
