Senator Ali Mohammed Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, berating critics over his statement on the planned move of some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and FAAN from Abuja to Lagos by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, asserted that it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the President or anyone else.
According to Ndume, “…it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
National Daily Newspaper gathered that Senator Ali Ndume asserted that he was not speaking for Northern Senators or the Senate, but expressed his strong views “as a Northerner in support of the majority of Northerners and some Nigerians who were against the action of thre CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo”.
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Ndume was cited to have declared: “with all due respect, I did not speak on behalf of the Northern Senators or the Senate but as a Northerner in support of the majority of Northerners and some Nigerians who are against the action of CBN Governor and the Minister of Aviation,
“A famous former American President said, patriotism means to stand by the country.’ It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.
“It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.
“In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else. To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
He, therefore, claimed that, “What I said is my personal opinion and position.”