Don applauds Senate’s suspension of Ndume

Prof. Aloysius Okolie of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has applauded the Senate for slamming a six-month suspension on Sen. Ali Ndume for bringing the upper house into disrepute.

Okolie, of the Department of Political Science, gave the commendation in an interview with our reporter in Nsukka on Friday.

He said it was wrong for Ndume to call for the probe of his colleagues in the senate based on what he read in the newspapers without verifying the facts.

“As a distinguished senator, he should not talk like ordinary man on the street; he must have facts and figures before casting aspersion on anybody.

“He claimed he read about the alleged certificate forgery of Sen. Dino Melaye and importation of bullet proof Range Rover SUV by the Senate President in newspapers.

“That is not enough to blackmail the Senate.

“Ndume should have gone further to carry out a personal investigation to verify if the allegations are true or false before jumping into conclusion,” Okolie said.

According to him, the Senate followed due process by investigating the two allegations through its Privileges and Ethics Committee before bringing its sledge hammer on Ndume.

“If the two allegations are true, Nigerians and the world would have celebrated Ndume as one who brought the issue to the floor; but now they are false, so he should also bear the consequences.

“This is good lesson for whistle blowers; there is nothing wrong in blowing the whistle, but you must ensure you have facts and figures of what you are saying.

“It’s unfortunate that Ndume’s suspension will deny Borno South Senatorial District a voice in Senate for six months.

“But it will also provide opportunity for his people to assess if he has given the district effective representation,” he said.

On the call by the upper house on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, Okolie urged the president to nominate a replacement for Magu.

“If I am Mr President, I will nominate another person as EFCC chairman and give Magu another appointment to avert further row with the Senate,’’ he said.