9th Senate: Ndume not in alliance with Ekweremadu ― Support group

A group of loyalists of the former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, the Borno Concerned Group (BCG) on Monday denied reports indicating that the Borno Senator was planning a joint ticket with Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) so as to win the Senate Presidency of the 9th Assembly.

The group, in a statement dismissed the media report purporting that Ndume was planning a power sharing arrangement with the PDP as false and a figment of imagination of the writers.

The group stated that , an advocacy group that the deliberate falsehood was orchestrated by faceless persons to cast the Borno Senator in the mould of anti-party man or anti-Buhari or both.

In a statement by its Spokesman Alhaji Mohammed Shehu, the group said in Abuja, the report was “a well-crafted but mischievous narrative that Senator Danjuma Goje and Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume are in talks with opposition party for Goje-Ekweremadu or Ndume-Ekweremadu senate presidency ticket.”

The statement read: “While we are not holding brief for Senator Goje, we state for the avoidance of doubt, that there was neither such meeting nor discussion with Senator Ndume.

“Our initial reaction was to simply ignore the report considering its factual errors and its failure to pass the basic principle of fair and unbiased journalism test. It did not consider it appropriate to hear the other side of the story assuming there was any.

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“The report that the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai had been sent by President Buhari to open talks with Senator Ndume is also another falsehood fabricated to insulate their preferred candidate from the necessary rigour of a popularity contest expected of an aspirant to the nation’s number 3 position.

“Mr President and Governor El-Rufai are both democrats. And like many other democrats in the All Progressives Congress (APC) would never support the imposition of any candidate on National Assembly under any guise but would rather allow for the emergence of a loyal and popular Speaker and Senate President within the parameter of party’s zoning arrangements.

“The BCG as a body would like to assure the public of our greatest respect for the media, given its role in our collective quest for good governance and constitutional democracy.”

The group said that it was calling for caution so as not to be misled by unpopular but desperate politicians whom it said would stop at nothing to drag the otherwise sacred leadership positions of National Assembly in murky political waters.