Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has said President Bola Tinubu’s greatest challenge is being surrounded by people who are unwilling to tell him when he is wrong.
Ndume made the remark during an interview on Trust TV on Friday, where he expressed concern that many of the president’s close associates are too dependent on him to offer honest advice.
The senator disclosed that despite his longstanding relationship with Tinubu, he has only met the president twice since he assumed office in 2023.
“The president knows me to some extent. I give it to him that he has so much to do. Since 2023, I have met the president only twice,”Ndume said.
He argued that the composition of the president’s inner circle has become a major challenge for the administration.
“I said it before that Tinubu’s problem is the people around him,” he stated.
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Ndume claimed that a significant majority of those close to the president had relied on him long before he assumed office.
“I can tell you authoritatively that 95 per cent of the people around Tinubu are his dependents even before he became the president,” he said.
According to the lawmaker, the president had supported many of those individuals over the years, making it difficult for them to challenge his decisions or provide objective advice.
“He was taking care of them, and that is one of the problems of his government. When you have people around you that are your dependents, they cannot look you in the face and say, ‘Mr President, this cannot work,’” Ndume added.