Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, says President Bola Tinubu’s inner circle is weakening governance and disconnecting the administration from grassroots politics.
Ndume spoke on Wednesday during an interview on ARISE Television warning that frustration across northern Nigeria could translate into electoral backlash if unresolved grievances persist.
“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 about it is that the President can turn things around.”
The lawmaker said northern leaders had sought dialogue with the president, noting his personal involvement in meetings between Tinubu and elders from the region.
“In the North, northern 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, he brought all the critical appointees from the North and we had a wonderful session.”
Ndume said the consultation process stalled despite commitments made by the president to sustain engagement.
“He promised that it would continue, but it never happened,” he said.
While distancing Tinubu from direct responsibility, Ndume argued that the president’s difficulties are rooted in the quality of advisers surrounding him.
“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.
He contrasted the current situation with Tinubu’s tenure as Lagos governor, which he said benefited from competent and politically grounded aides.
“The President had good people around him when he was governor of Lagos; that was why he succeeded,” Ndume said.
“Most of the good people are not there now. They have been sidelined.”
The Borno senator accused some presidential aides of elitism and detachment from everyday Nigerian realities.
“He just picked people that don’t know anybody,” he 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.
“Instead of bringing in his team that would look at him in the face and tell him the truth, he decided to surround himself with people that don’t know politics.”
The senator warned that unresolved northern discontent could deepen and ultimately shape voting behaviour if corrective steps are not urgently taken.