Born in 1959 into a Christian home in  Borno, Senator Samuel Ali  Ndume  (APC,  Borno  South) is many things to different people.   Some see him as a defender of democracy. To some, he is a stubborn senator. Yet there are those who see him as  Boko Haram senator. In a no-holds-barred interview in Abuja after the inauguration of the Ninth Senate, Senator Ndume told Vanguard why he refused to step down for Senator Ahmad  Lawan  (APC,  Yobe  North) despite intense pressure mounted by the leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and why he must ensure that Lawan succeeds. The lawmaker spoke on his growing up and humble beginnings, how he went to a Polytechnic instead of any of the two universities that offered him admission, where Nigeria went wrong, and how personalization and privatization of government have destroyed the country among others.

en. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) on Tuesday, described the conduct of the senate president election for the 9th National Assembly as ”free and fair.”

 Sen. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) on Tuesday, described the conduct of the senate president election for the 9th National Assembly as ”free and fair.

Senator Ahmad Lawan, representing Yobe North, has been elected as Senate President. Lawan defeated Senator Ali-Ndume with 79 votes, out of the total of 107 votes cast. 

Ahead of the election of principal officers of the National Assembly on Tuesday, anxiety has enveloped Yobe, home state of Sen. Ahmad Lawan, a leading candidate for the senate presidency.