My exit from the Senate was misinterpreted – Ndume

In a plenary meeting on Tuesday, Senate Chief Whip Ali Ndume gave explanations for his choice to leave the Senate chamber.

After a disagreement with Senate President Godswill Akpabio during the session, Ndume left.

He had made an effort to alert the Senate to what he believed to be infractions of its Standing Rules.

Senator Ndume brought up procedural violations at the meeting, claiming they went against accepted parliamentary procedure.

Ndume mentioned an order, but Senate President Akpabio declared him out of order since it did not pertain to the topic he was addressing.

READ ALSO: Real reason I left the Senate plenary – Ndume

Then, it appears that Ndume became frustrated and exited the room.

Later, in an Abuja interview with BBC Hausa, he gave an explanation for his decision to leave, adding that the issue occurred as a result of Senator Kawu Sumaila’s urgent motion to close the Nigeria-Niger border.

“At first, it was claimed that the motion wasn’t urgent, but the Senate’s president allowed him to finish his sentence.

After the motion was heard, it was decided that it should be suspended since it concerned security, according to Ndume.

Senator Ndume stated that he requested a chance to speak but was not given one because he wanted to discuss the significance of the motion.

He made it clear that he was the President of ECOWAS at the time the border was closed, not the President of Nigeria.

He said, “I was not given the opportunity to communicate this message. It is vital that the President of our nation be involved in order to handle this situation.

Senator Ndume confirmed that he left the meeting to pray, a fact that his colleagues and the media had misconstrued.

The fact that this was taking place during a time of prayer prompted me to leave.

As a result, my coworkers misinterpreted my exit, and the journalists reinterpreted it,” Ndume stated.