Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has accused Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South of silently aligning with the opposition, despite still being a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bwala made this claim on Sunday while speaking on the political programme Politics Today aired on Channels Television.
He said, “Let me tell you today and I want everybody to hear, especially the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje. Senator Ali Ndume’s spirit and soul are with the coalition; it is his body that is in APC. He is already going.
“It is better the way (Nasir) el-Rufai did: just say I am leaving. You’d give more honour and credit to el-Rufai that he didn’t feel he could stay and be a snitch.”
Ndume had stirred controversy recently when he criticized President Tinubu’s decision to consider a state of emergency in Rivers State. He advised instead that the president should focus on the worsening state of national security and economic hardship.
Ndume, who has served in the National Assembly since 1999, also pointed out that Tinubu should be concerned about the absence of support from former President Muhammadu Buhari. His comments came shortly after opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, visited Buhari in Kaduna.
That visit is believed to be part of a growing coalition movement involving Atiku, Peter Obi, and Nasir El-Rufai. On March 20, 2025, these three political figures, alongside others, declared a new political alliance with the aim of defeating Tinubu’s APC in the 2027 general election.
The coalition reportedly plans to build on the voter support from the 2023 election, in which Atiku and Obi collectively secured over 12 million votes. This figure is over four million more than Tinubu’s total, though he was declared the winner by INEC.
Due to internal crises and leadership disputes affecting both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has emerged as a potential safe haven for dissatisfied politicians.
Former Kaduna State Governor El-Rufai has already joined the SDP, along with some of his supporters. Though there are growing rumours that Atiku and Obi might also switch to the SDP, neither of them has made an official move.
